Prophylactic Antibiotics for Vaginal Delivery - Benefits and Possible Harms

Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician often labeled the "Savior of Women,"pioneered the use of antiseptic techniques to decrease puerperal fever. Although his seminal 1861 publication, The Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever, was poorly received at the time, it is now the foundation for contemporary preventative obstetric practices, including routine hand washing. Despite this progress, maternal infection remains one of the top causes of maternal death worldwide and is currently ranked third behind hypertension and hemorrhage. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that as of 2017, approximately 810 women died each day from preventable causes related to.