INANITION

[busybod]

Hi all

Have just received a copy of my Uncle's death certificate.  He died in 1914 at the age of 2 days.  The cause of death is given as "inanition".  Would anybody have any ideas what this would be in layman's terms.  All ideas greatly appreciated.

Thanks


Busybod

[Jebber]

his is the type of question for Google
 

Exhaustion, as from lack of nourishment or vitality.


Jebber

[MiKki of MnM]

Google brings back this:-

inanition /in·a·ni·tion/ (in″ah-nish´un) the exhausted state due to prolonged undernutrition; starvation.

[busybod]

Cant understand this - yes I understand the meaning of under nutrition, but cant believe my Grandparents let him starve to death.  There must have been some underlying medical cause.

Busybod

[LizzieW]

He was probably starved in the uterus.  Nowadays, with scans etc. mums are delivered early if the fetus is not growing (what is called intra uterine growth retardation) and the baby is then taken to Special Care Baby Unit until well enough to go home.  That wouldn't have happened in 1914 and the baby would have either been born prem and very small, or full term and very small.

Don't blame your grandparents, it can happen even when the mother is well fed etc. it is just that the placenta wasn't working properly for some reason.

Lizzie

[Maggie.]

Hi Busybod,

Here is a link to a Google book:-

http://www.rootschat.com/links/07cx/

It seems to imply that inanition is a now largely forgotten term used in the early 1900s to describe a fever of the newborn caused by dehydration in breast fed babies.

Maggie

[stonechat]

My dad when small had to attend Gt Ormond St Hospital as apparently not benefitting from nutrients in his milk

[Icicle]

Would this be the same as "failing to thrive" ?

[Maggie.]

Probably someone will be along with a better answer than this but I my guess would be that 'Inanition' is/was specific to new-born babies whereas 'failure to thrive' would relate to babies and toddlers beyond the neonatal stage - more of a failure to put on weight at a satisfactory rate for which there could be many reasons.

Maggie