Prophylaxis
The frequency of the occurrence of puerperal fever has fallen sharply since the discovery of hand disinfection by the gynecologist Ignaz Semmelweis in the 19th century. Before Semmelweis addressed the problem, women very often died of blood poisoning (puerperal sepsis) resulting from postpartum fever. Today, the incidence in Germany is about 5 percent.
The probability of contracting puerperal fever depends on whether the women give birth at home or in a hospital. In addition, this probability is also very much determined by the hospital in which the delivery takes place, as each hospital has a different rate of infections that have occurred in the home. Therefore, it makes sense to find a hospital with a low infection and complication rate for the delivery. In general, due to the discovery of hand disinfection as well as the antibiotics, postpartum fever is now considered a rather rare and easily treatable complication of childbirth.
