A boozy drink called caudle may have prevented royal deaths
On October 24, 1537, Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour died just two weeks after the birth of her only child, a boy who would go on to rule as King Edward VI. She passed away as a result of postnatal problems, and more specifically from puerperal fever, a septic infection of the reproductive organs. Now, of course, King Henry quickly got over this, moving onto wife number four. However, Jane Seymour’s passing helped highlight the risk every woman took in having a child, forcing the physicians of the time to find ways of keeping new mothers safe.
One of the most popular solutions was a drink called ‘caudle’. This was a deeply unpleasant concoction, made by combining eggs, cream and porridge. As well as being thick and gloopy, it smelled as bad as it tasted. Nevertheless, it was seen as an effective way of keeping an expectant lady’s strength up when she went into labour. What’s more, since it also contained alcohol, usually from the addition of wine or ale, it could help a royal mother-to-be cope with the pain of childbirth.
Notably, caudle was to be taken after the birth as well. It was seen as an effective restorative, helping a new mother get her strength back up and guarding against puerperal fever, the condition that killed Jane Seymour. Well into the Regency period in England, physicians and midwives advised that caudle should be consumed immediately after the delivery of a child, with regular doses to follow. According to Dr Edmund Chapman, a renowned childbirth expert of 18th century England, “white wine caudle” was particularly effective if a woman had lost a lot of blood during childbirth. Then, if the problem persisted, he advised switching to red wine caudle.
Whether or not caudle helped reduce the risk of potentially-fatal bacterial infections is debatable, especially when it was drunk in such unsanitary conditions. However, the alcohol would have certainly helped, especially at a time when even queens and princesses were strongly discouraged from using any form of pain relief when giving birth.