puerperal fever
noun
: an abnormal condition that results from infection of the placental site following delivery or abortion and is characterized in mild form by fever but in serious cases the infection may spread through the uterine wall or pass into the bloodstream
called also childbed fever, puerperal sepsis
Examples of puerperal fever in a Sentence
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Concluding that the medical students and obstetricians were causing puerperal fever in their pregnant patients by infecting them with cadaverous particles on their hands, Semmelweis instituted some harsh protocols.
—
Sabrina Sholts, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
Holmes suggested that unwashed hands among the medical and nursing staff were responsible for transmitting puerperal fever.
—Gary Simon, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2023
In 1843, Oliver Wendell Holmes proposed that puerperal fever, an often fatal infection following childbirth, had an infectious, transmissible component to it - one directly linked to the hygiene of physicians.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 29 Aug. 2015
This changed when Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor working in Austria, sought to find the cause behind the high number of new mothers who were contracting puerperal fever.
—Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 26 Jan. 2022
In the Vienna General Hospital, where Semmelweis worked, puerperal fever was especially common in the maternity ward where male doctors worked.
—Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 26 Jan. 2022
In 1847, the Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis could not convince his fellow doctors in Vienna to wash their hands before delivering babies as a way to prevent often fatal cases of puerperal fever in new mothers.
—David Tuller, STAT, 17 Nov. 2020
And Semmelweis himself could never completely eliminate cases of puerperal fever, even when his protocols were strictly enforced.
—Lindsey Fitzharris, WSJ, 19 Mar. 2020
Semmelweis noticed that the man’s symptoms were remarkably similar to those of women suffering from puerperal fever.
—Lindsey Fitzharris, WSJ, 19 Mar. 2020
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Sabrina Sholts, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
Holmes suggested that unwashed hands among the medical and nursing staff were responsible for transmitting puerperal fever.
—Gary Simon, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2023
In 1843, Oliver Wendell Holmes proposed that puerperal fever, an often fatal infection following childbirth, had an infectious, transmissible component to it - one directly linked to the hygiene of physicians.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 29 Aug. 2015
This changed when Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor working in Austria, sought to find the cause behind the high number of new mothers who were contracting puerperal fever.
—Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 26 Jan. 2022
In the Vienna General Hospital, where Semmelweis worked, puerperal fever was especially common in the maternity ward where male doctors worked.
—Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 26 Jan. 2022
In 1847, the Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis could not convince his fellow doctors in Vienna to wash their hands before delivering babies as a way to prevent often fatal cases of puerperal fever in new mothers.
—David Tuller, STAT, 17 Nov. 2020
And Semmelweis himself could never completely eliminate cases of puerperal fever, even when his protocols were strictly enforced.
—Lindsey Fitzharris, WSJ, 19 Mar. 2020
Semmelweis noticed that the man’s symptoms were remarkably similar to those of women suffering from puerperal fever.
—Lindsey Fitzharris, WSJ, 19 Mar. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Puerperal fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puerperal%20fever. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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