Divorced, Beheaded, Died? The Postpartum Care of Jane Seymour

After thoroughly diving into Catherine and Anne's lives my research has taken an unexpected turn; to Jane Seymour. As I began reading about her life, I found myself conforming to the popular opinions of her as the spineless, pushover wife. As an Anne addict, I also could not help but think of her as a mortal enemy. While reading a master's thesis on Jane's involvement in the fall of Anne Boleyn, the author broached an interesting topic, she accused Henry and his physicians of negligence in Jane's post pregnancy care which resulted in her premature death. Intrigued by the idea, I began looking into it. Jane's pregnancy was announced in February 1537. It is recorded by court doctors that her pregnancy was easy, Jane suffered from almost no morning sickness. Despite her easy pregnancy, Jane's labor would be far from simple. Edward's delivery took two full days and three nights, with the long-awaited heir making him apprearance in the world early on the morning of October 12. He was named after Edward the Confessor, whose feast day was the following day. Following her long labor and delivery, Jane was able to sit and greet guests before the Edward's christening on October 15, but it was evident she was not well. Two days later, the Queen's health had deteriorated so drastically that she was administered her Last Rites by her personal confessor. On October 24, 1537Jane Seymour expired. So what caused her demise? Is Henry and/or his physician to blame? Using the Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, as well as numerous books on Jane and information on renaissance medicine I have explored the pregnancy, labor and post-partum health of Henry's third queen.
Jane was a young, presumably healthy woman. At the time of Edward's birth she was twenty-eight years old and as a wealthy member of the nobility she would not have suffered from the malnutrition that often causes pregnancy issues and was common amongst the lower class, in fact she was often referred to a "plump" As we have already discovered her pregnancy was easy but labor was difficult. It is safe to assume that this drawn-out delivery was as a result of a badly positioned baby. The uterus is the muscle used to deliver a baby and it would have become seriously strained given the length of labor Jane experienced. In a normal pregnancy, where the baby is not breeched, the usterus expels the placenta and other post natal bodily fluids. Given the exhausted state of Jane's uterus it might have been incapable of ridding itself of these fluids. If the fluids were retained, they would begin to decay quickly causing an infection in the body. Jane's immune system and overall health would have been compromised due to the labor, rendering her unable to fight infection. Further damage to her health would have been caused by the dirty hands, rags and tools used on her body. Little was known about hygiene and microbiology in this time period so hand washing and sterilizing was not a priority nor was there an effective treatment for infections. Historian Alison Weir claims Jane died from puerperal fever due to an infection contracted when her perineum tore. Because Queens were not examined closely by physicians and vaginal inspections were completely forbidden, we will never know what caused Jane's infection. However, we can be sure it was an infection because her doctors recorded her having "bloody flux" and heart arithmeas, sure signs of septicemia. Jane's doctors did what they could to keep her comfortable including trying to control her fevers, encouraging her to take fluids and rest as much as possible. So were they or Henry responsible for her death? My conclusion is no, social rules and medicinal treatment of the time period failed Queen Jane, not her husband. The rate of maternal mortality was very high because of the lack of infection treatments. Jane's death was unavoidable given the level of medical knowledge and intervention of the period.

Sources: NIH, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour: A Biography, Puerperal Fever and Medicine in the Middle Ages, Female Mortality in Tudor England.

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