Woman's Hour - Childbed Fever

Wed 23rd Jan 2008 by Ben Palmer.

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I've just been alerted to a Woman's Hour discussion on childbed fever this morning. I listened to a recording of it on the BBC website.

The author of a new book, The Bone Garden discusses childbed fever with the presenter and a professor, but in the context of the past. They highlight the pain and agony of dying from this terrible disease, and how doctors used to be the cause of epidemics - by spreading it - but unfortunately there was no mention of the underlying natural causes - so often Group A streptococcus, a community bacterium.

Towards the end there is recognition of the fact that 16 women died of it in the mid 1990s, and that one woman (Jessica, I wondered) died of it in 2004. Why not go further and quote the more up to date statistics of 1997-99, 2000-02 and 2003-05 or mention the two more recent cases of childbed fever in Winchester last December as well?

I hope that when Friday's Child is published I may get the opportunity to bring the story up to date and highlight its continuance.

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tags: childbed fever death doctors group a strep infection media winchester valley

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3 Responses to “Woman's Hour - Childbed Fever”

1. Flash Bristow says:

   Wed 23rd Jan 2008 at 23:58

   I am currently reading the Bone Garden and thought "I wonder if childbed fever exists...?" and put the book aside for a second to consult Google. I found your site via Wikipedia.

   I guess that if this book - even though it's a novel - spreads awareness, that's a good thing for you. I'll go listen to the interview.

   Sorry for your loss, but congratulations on an interesting and easy to use website, good luck in getting the word out.
2. Ben Palmer says:

   Thu 24th Jan 2008 at 13:10

   Hi Flash
   I'm glad you found the site - I hope that The Bone Garden prompts others to ask the same question (I must get a copy)

   Thank you for the support and the compliment.

   Very best wishes
3. Jessica's trust | An Inspector Calls says:

   Thu 28th Feb 2008 at 22:15

   [...] I heard about childbed fever on Woman's Hour," she told me, both shocked to hear that Jessica was a victim, fully understanding about my change [...]

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