Puerperal fever is fever caused by an infection of the genital tract once prevalent in women within two weeks after childbirth. In most cases puerperal fever occurred because aseptic techniques during delivery and occasionally during abortion and miscarriage were not used. Also called childbed fever, the infection in most instances was due to streptococci that entered the body during delivery.

The efforts of the physicians Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis and Oliver Wendell Holmes brought about the adoption of rigid cleanliness and asepsis in maternal delivery procedures, and the mortality from puerperal fever was reduced more than 90 percent after their adoption.

In addition to the use of strict asepsis in obstetrical procedures, the availability of modern antiseptics has made puerperal fever a rarity.

Since the development of antibiotics and the use of antiseptics, puerperal fever has become extremely rare. If you have a high fever shortly after childbirth, your physician may suspect puerperal fever. If you have it, there is a slight risk that the infection can spread to the bloodstream and cause blood poisoning. It can also spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes, and cause infertility. Samples of your blood, urine and material from your birth canal may be tested for infection. If the results show an infection, an antibiotic will probably be prescribed to stop the infection from spreading.