Pathology of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium Codexery

Postpartum infections

Bacterial infections of the reproductive tract after childbirth or miscarriage.

Postpartum infections are bacterial infections of the female reproductive tract following childbirth or miscarriage, with signs including fever above 38.0 °C, chills, lower abdominal pain, and odorous vaginal discharge.[1] The most frequent postpartum infection is puerperal sepsis, also referred to as postpartum metritis or endometritis, and it typically appears after the first 24 hours but within ten days of delivery.[2][3] Factors that raise the risk for postpartum infections include having a caesarean section, group B streptococcus in the vagina, premature rupture of membranes, and prolonged labour.[2]

Quick Facts

Field
Obstetrics
Symptoms
  • Fever
  • lower abdominal pain
  • bad-smelling vaginal discharge
Causes
Typically multiple types of bacteria
Risks
  • Caesarean section
  • premature rupture of membranes
  • prolonged labour
  • malnutrition
  • diabetes
Treatment
Antibiotics
Frequency
11.8 million
Deaths
17,900

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Semmelweis ordered all doctors and students to wash hands in chlorinated lime solution before ward work and before each vaginal examination from May 1847.[4] Hippocrates' writings from at least the 5th century BCE contain the earliest known references to postpartum infections.[5] In 1847, Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician, cut the death rate from the disease in Vienna's First Obstetrical Clinic from close to 20% down to 2% by having staff wash their hands with a calcium hypochlorite solution.[5] Leonard Colebrook demonstrated in 1935 that Prontosil could cure puerperal fever because it was effective against haemolytic streptococcus.[6]

This condition was the leading cause of maternal death, responsible for roughly half of all childbirth-related fatalities.[7] Approximately 10% of deaths that occur around the time of pregnancy are caused by these infections.[5]

What the research sources say

Gordon wrote, "It is a disagreeable declaration for me to mention, that I myself was the means of carrying the infection to a great number of women"[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Postpartum infections" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; "DC Dutta's Textbook of Obstetrics", JP Medical Ltd, 2014, p. 432 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Postpartum infections" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; "Hacker & Moore's essentials of obstetrics and gynecology", Elsevier Canada, 2015, p. 276–290; "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; "WHO recommendations for prevention and treatment of maternal peripartum infections", World Health Organization, 2015, p. 1; "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill P en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Postpartum infections" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; "DC Dutta's Textbook of Obstetrics", JP Medical Ltd, 2014, p. 432 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Postpartum infections" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Raju, "Ignác Semmelweis and the etiology of fetal and neonatal sepsis", Journal of Perinatology, 1999, p. 307–310 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Postpartum infections" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ((GBD 2015 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators)), "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: a systematic analys; "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; "Williams Obstetrics", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2014, p. Chapter 37; ((GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators)), "Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Postpartum infections" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Colebrook, L; Kenny, M (June 6, 1936). "Treatment of Human Puerperal Infections, and of Experimental Infections in Mice, with Prontosil".Lancet 227(1): 1279–128; "Wound care nursing", Elsevier Health Sciences, 2006, p. 54 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Postpartum infections" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Loudon, "The Tragedy of Childbed Fever", Oxford University Press, USA, 9 March 2000, p. 6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Treatise on the Epidemic of Puerperal Fever", www.general-anaesthesia.com. facts only, no text reused. general-anaesthesia.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Postpartum infections (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Pathology of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium

Amniotic fluid embolismAnhydramniosAntenatal depressionAntenatal steroidBreastfeeding and medicationsBreastfeeding difficultiesChorea gravidarumCircumvallate placentaCouvelaire uterusDiabetes and pregnancyFunisitisHELLP syndrome

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →