Hospital Infections and What You Should Know
By Danell Swim
January 25, 2008
Hospital Acquired Infections
We all have bacteria that we wear on our bodies and inside of our bodies. This is beneficial to us in most instances, and our bodies are capable of dealing with them. The bacteria in our home is the bacteria that our body is used to. But as soon as you enter the hospital, your body begins to change. If a culture were taken before entering the hospital, and a few hours after being in the hospital, it would already show changes.
A Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) is an infection that is picked up during your stay in the hospital. Sometimes after leaving the hospital, the bacteria that was picked up during the hospital stay will turn into an infection, and this is also considered an HAI.
These HAI’s are of particular interest to pregnant women, because in an age where 99% of births occur in hospitals, it means a lot of potentially sick mothers and infants.
These HAI’s are the 8th leading cause of death in the
One of the more publicized HAI’s that is becoming all too common in hospitals, is MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). It was first discovered in the
Avoiding Infection
The first step to avoiding any infections in hospitals is easy. Stay away from hospitals! This can mean either finding a birth center that is not located within a hospital, or choosing to birth at home. While a birth center is not as bacteria friendly as your own home, it doesn’t have nurses, doctors and staff who are regularly in contact with these infections in other people. Homebirth is the easiest way to avoid these infections.
Limiting the amount of time in the hospital is also important. Laboring at home for as long as possible, and going home as soon as you feel comfortable, are other ways to reduce the amount of contact with harmful bacteria.
When you’re laboring in the hospital, limit the amount of vaginal exams performed. This is especially important if your waters have broken, as it leaves you susceptible to infection. The bag of waters is there to protect these sensitive areas from foreign matters, including bacteria, and it has to be guarded against when that protective layer is no longer present.
Vaginal exams are for informational purposes only. They won’t make your labor go any faster, and they won’t make your baby any healthier. It’s just a gauge so that your doctor or midwife knows how you’re progressing. Which seems unimportant when compared to the possibility of a serious infection.
Ask your doctor or midwife to check your cervix no more than every 12 hours, or only once you feel the urge to push.
Limit the amount of IV’s, drugs and blood draws. Every time your skin is broken, it leaves it open to infection.
Cesarean surgery is major abdominal surgery, and leaves the mother vulnerable to infection. Also, because of the method of this form of birth, it increases the risk that your baby will have immature lungs and/or fluid in the lungs, which necessitates a stay in the NICU. This also leaves the baby susceptible to infection.
Do what you can to avoid a cesarean. This includes going into the hospital late in labor, refusing an induction and an epidural, and staying upright and moving throughout labor (not laying in bed).
Wash your own hands often. Every time you get up, and every time you even think of eating or drinking. This is important throughout labor, and after the baby is born. Also insist that any nurse, orderly or friend and relative who wants to be in your presence wash their hands for 30 seconds. They may seem clean, but they touched a lot of door handles and elevator buttons before getting to your room.
Keep your baby with you at all times. The less contact your baby has with other staff members, the fewer opportunities for bacteria to spread.
If you have any other tips for avoiding an infection, please leave a comment below!
This site is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to replace the advice and guidance of a healthcare professional.
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Make sure that all health care professionals are wearing gloves when handling you or baby. This may sound simple, but many health care professionals do not wear gloves when performing procedures.