I can agree with you on the problem of the introduction. Though it made sense, story-wise, since Snow didn't get her or her son's name, it still remains an out-of-universe problem that frequently presents itself in all media, as you said. I'm only in Ch. 6, and I'll try to avoid spoiling you, but when you find out exactly what her name was and how it is used by Hope, you may change your mind about it. I have a feeling her and her name will be even more important as the story goes on, but I could be wrong.

Unfortunately, she died all too soon, for the purposes of furthering the story. She was likeable, too. (Moms ARE tough, lol. XD) The problem of women being used as sacrificial lambs for the purpose of story development isn't changing in FF13, unfortunately.