puerperal fever

noun

Definition of puerperal fever

: 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

Recent Examples of puerperal fever from the Web

Within 11 days of Mary’s birth in London in 1797, however, Wollstonecraft lay dead of puerperal fever, leaving Godwin on his own to raise the new baby and her half-sister, Fanny (Wollstonecraft’s daughter by a previous lover).

— elizabeth lowry, WSJ, "The Mother of Frankenstein," 1 June 2018
No one could figure out why so many women and children were dying from puerperal fever—commonly known as childbed fever.

— michael harriot, The Root, "The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Lotion Is the Cure for Racism," 18 May 2018
Later in his career, Knowlton helped figure out what caused puerperal fever, write Baumrin, Cobett and Kulkarni, advancing women's health.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "This Infamous 19th-Century Birth Control Pamphlet Got Its Writer Imprisoned," 10 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'puerperal fever.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of puerperal fever

1716

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

puerperal fever

noun

medical Definition of puerperal fever

: an abnormal condition that results from infection (as by streptococci) of the placental site following delivery or abortion and is characterized in mild form by fever of not over 100.4°F (38.0°C) but may progress to a localized endometritis or spread through the uterine wall and develop into peritonitis or pass into the bloodstream and produce sepsis — called also childbed fever, puerperal sepsis