Using civil registration as a prism this article examines the complicated interface between
the authorities, medical professionals, women in childbirth and the aftermath of delivery. It
argues that Irish maternal mortality was underestimated and provides a number of arguments in relation
to the complex socio-medical environment to explain why. Our research shows how a combination
of cavalier attitudes towards cause of death classification and liberal interpretations of
William Farr’s Statistical Nosology, served to obscure the true extent of maternal mortality in Dublin
City from 1864 to 1902. By offering a microhistory of maternal mortality reporting and registration
this article problematises the merits of using civil registration data as a resource for the social history
of medicine.