Birth blog Love Led Birthing reported on Friday that a new study shows more American women are contracting a deadly infection.
Severe sepsis and death from sepsis during childbirth rates have risen sharply over a 10 year period in the US, the study revealed.
According to WebMD, 'Sepsis is a serious medical condition caused by an overwhelming immune response to infection. Chemicals released into the blood to fight infection trigger widespread inflammation.
Inflammation may result in organ damage. Blood clotting during sepsis reduces blood flow to limbs and internal organs, depriving them of nutrients and oxygen. In severe cases, one or more organs fail. In the worst cases, infection leads to a life-threatening drop in blood pressure, called septic shock. This can quickly lead to the failure of several organs -- lungs, kidneys, and liver -- causing death.'
The researchers said there needs to be improved detection of sepsis in all women during labor and delivery, including those who do not show an apparent risk.
National data from 1998 to 2008 found that sepsis occurred in one in every 3,333 women who were in a hospital to give birth. Severe sepsis occurred in about one in every 11,000 women. From 1998 to 2008 the rate of sepsis almost doubled from 1:15,400 to 1:7,250 women to give birth in a hospital.
Several medical conditions including lupus, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, chronic liver and receiving a 'cervical stitch' increase the risk of developing severe sepsis according to the news release.
More than six percent of the women who developed severe or fatal sepsis had no known risk factors.
Why do you think sepsis rates have been on the rise?
