A disciplinary alliance between obstetrics and infectious diseases: Building integrated perinatal safety systems

Aim: To summarize contemporary evidence and guideline-informed approaches for integrating infectious diseases expertise into perinatal care, to describe practical alliance models that improve maternal-neonatal infectious outcomes while supporting antimicrobial stewardship, and to propose measurable endpoints for audit and quality improvement.

Materials and Methods: A narrative review was conducted using structured searches in PubMed/MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library (2015-2026; emphasis 2021-2026) and hand-searching key guidance repositories (WHO, ACOG, CDC, RCOG, NIH). Search terms included combinations of maternal sepsis, intraamniotic infection, congenital syphilis, group B streptococcus, perinatal HIV, cytomegalovirus, antimicrobial stewardship, and maternal immunization. Evidence was synthesized with attention to implementation feasibility, workflow triggers, and measurable quality metrics. Sources were included if they provided clinical definitions, diagnostic/therapeutic pathways, stewardship frameworks, or prevention cascades relevant to prenatal, intrapartum, or postpartum care. A total of 30 sources were included in the final synthesis.

Conclusions: Integrating infectious diseases expertise into perinatal systems improves diagnostic precision, accelerates appropriate therapy for true infection, strengthens prevention cascades, and reduces unnecessary antibiotic exposure. Standardized triggers, shared protocols, microbiology support, and audit-feedback are the core implementation ingredients.