Publication:

Multiple vaginal examinations and early neonatal sepsis

Background Early onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) is caused mainly by organisms present in the genital tract. Maternal risk factors increase the incidence of EONS. This study was done to find out the association between one such risk factor i.e., multiple vaginal examinations and EONS.

Methods Case control study. 114 patients with three or more vaginal examinations after rupture of membranes were taken as cases and 114 patients with less than three vaginal examinations after rupture of membranes were taken as controls. All these babies were followed up for the development of EONS.

Results Of the 114 cases, 6 babies developed EONS. None of the babies in the control group developed EONS. So, 3 or more vaginal examinations after rupture of membranes in labour is significantly associated with early onset neonatal sepsis with p-value of 0.01305.

Conclusions Multiple vaginal examinations after rupture of membranes is a risk factor for early onset neonatal sepsis.