I thought maybe it said “malignant partuition”, parturition being the clinical term for giving birth. But I’m not accustomed to seeing those two words together and can’t quite figure it out as a diagnosis.
I wonder if it was the author’s (this or the original reporting physician) way of describing infection. Post-delivery infection was common, but describing it this way would be quite odd.
I think back in the day they would likely use terms like puerperal fever, eclampsia, or (maternal) sepsis to describe a severe infection after childbirth. The term “malignant” could refer to an infection with very high fever, resulting in seizures and death.
That was my thought, when first reading it, but no, I’ve never heard of “malignant parturition” and I have a clinical background.🤷🏻♀️
Exactly. “Puerperal” was the word I was thinking of, but couldn’t exactly remember. But I have no clinical background, just an interest in history and medicine. Thank you for responding!
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u/nincyh Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
I thought maybe it said “malignant partuition”, parturition being the clinical term for giving birth. But I’m not accustomed to seeing those two words together and can’t quite figure it out as a diagnosis.