One page summary: Infection in pregnancy and after birth

In two sentences

Infection during pregnancy, labor or the weeks after birth can escalate into sepsis, which is the body's dangerous whole-system response to infection. ¹

The most dangerous version is the one that starts after you are home. New parents are exhausted, sore and expected to feel unwell, so early signs get explained away by everyone including the person experiencing them. Fever, worsening pain, foul-smelling discharge, breathlessness, or simply feeling much worse rather than gradually better are reasons to be seen the same day. ²

The numbers, with their sources

• What sepsis is. The body's dysregulated whole-system response to infection, which can cause organ dysfunction and can escalate quickly ¹
• Infection during labor. Intraamniotic infection, also called chorioamnionitis, is infection of the membranes and fluid around the baby, and it affects both mother and baby ³
• The prevention standard for GBS. Screening in late pregnancy and antibiotics through a vein during labor for those who screen positive or have risk factors ¹
• Antibiotics at cesarean. Prophylactic antibiotics before skin incision are standard practice for cesarean delivery ⁴
• Why postpartum care is a process. Guidance describes postpartum care as an ongoing process rather than a single visit, with earlier contact for those at risk ²
• The link to the baby. Maternal infection during pregnancy and labor is one of the recognized contributors to newborn brain injury ³

What to do this week

1. Learn the postpartum warning signs and act on them the same day.
2. Ask whether the placenta was sent to pathology, and request that report.
3. Ask what organism was found and whether the antibiotic course is complete.
4. Ask whether the newborn team were told about any fever or infection in labor.
5. Ask what your follow-up plan is and when you will be seen. ²
6. Ask about iron if there was also bleeding.
7. Say something if you are struggling emotionally. ⁵

Questions to take with you

Take these with you. Write the answers down in the moment, because you will not remember them later.

For the obstetrician

• What infection did I have, and what organism?
• Was there a source that needed removing or draining?
• Was there infection during labor, and were the newborn team informed?
• Was the placenta examined?
• What follow-up do I need, and when?

For the newborn team

• Was my baby evaluated for infection?
• What tests were done, and was a lumbar puncture needed?
• What are we watching for?

For your own recovery

• What should make me call again, and who do I call?
• Is my blood count normal now?
• Could this affect future pregnancies?

You can also build a printable list with the question generator.

Where to read more

The full page on this condition covers how it happens, causes split into what happens even with perfect care and what is associated with gaps in care, signs by age, diagnosis, treatment, outlook, daily life and lifetime cost.

Read the full page on Infection in pregnancy and after birth

Related pages are listed at the bottom of it, including the events that can lead to this condition and the guides that cover therapy, school and money.