What is Puerperal Fever?
Puerperal fever (from the Latin puer, child), also called childbed fever, can develop into puerperal sepsis, which is a serious form of septicaemia contracted by a woman during or shortly after childbirth, miscarriage or abortion. Puerperal fever is due to an infection usually of the placental site within the uterus. If untreated, it is life-threatening. Excerpted from http://www.jessicastrust.org.
Women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant may find it helpful to understand what causes puerperal fever. Also known as childbed fever, puerperal fever is a condition that can develop into puerperal sepsis. This is a serious form of septicemia that is most often contracted after an abortion, miscarriage, or childbirth. Women who have cesarean births are at a higher risk of contracting puerperal fever and puerperal sepsis than those who deliver vaginally, however. Puerperal fever is diagnosed when a woman shows a temperature above 100.4° (38°C) over 24 hours or recurring from the end of the first to the end of the tenth postpartum day. An oral temperature of 100.4° F(38°C) or more on any two of the first ten days postpartum is also a warning sign. Some patients may report a headache, vomiting, trouble breathing, diarrhea, sore throat, or unusual vaginal discharge as well. If caught early, puerperal fever can be treated with antibiotics. When it develops into puerperal sepsi
