Daily AncestorPlacenta previa
Placenta previa meant the afterbirth lay low in the womb over its opening, causing heavy bleeding late in pregnancy or at delivery.
Wikipedia describes placenta praevia as a placenta covering the cervical opening, with painless bright red bleeding in the second half of pregnancy and possible heavy bleeding after delivery.
The 1911 Census Bureau manual indexes placenta praevia under puerperal haemorrhage for the mother, and under birth conditions for the infant.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Mrs. Sarah E. Toothaker, 34, F, W, Oct., Placenta previa, flooding
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Placenta previa." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/placenta-previa. Last checked 2026-10-12.