Clinical amniotic fluid infection and its effect on the neonate

This study was undertaken to determine the effects of clinical amniotic fluid infection on the neonate in terms of bacterial infection, hyaline membrane disease, asphyxia, and mortality. A retrospective chart review was made of 107 mothers with clinical amniotic fluid infection and their infants at this institution over a 3-year period. The next live-born infant with a birth weight within 100 gm and gestational age within 2 weeks was chosen as a control for each study patient. The rate of prematurity in the study group was 71%. When prematurity was controlled for, there was no significant difference in regard to asphyxia, hyaline membrane disease, bacterial sepsis, and death between the study and control groups. These findings suggest that the adverse outcome for infants delivered to mothers with clinical amniotic fluid infection at this institution was related primarily to their prematurity.