Prevent infection by keeping germs away

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HealthWiki > A Book for Midwives > Chapter 5: Preventing Infection > Prevent infection by keeping germs away

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

Here are the basic rules to prevent infection.

	Clean your hands and wear protective clothing. Wash your hands often and wear protective clothing to prevent spreading germs from one person to another and to keep germs away from yourself.
	Clean the space and bedding. Clean the area where births and exams happen, to keep germs away.
	Clean and sterilize tools. Wash and sterilize tools to kill any germs on them.
	Get rid of wastes safely. Throw away waste products carefully to prevent people in the community from getting sick from the germs left on them.

Remember: Infection can spread most easily when a health worker is caring for many people. For example, if her hands are not clean or her tools are not sterile, she will pass germs from one woman to another to another. For this reason, a woman giving birth at a hospital or maternity center with many other women has more risk of infection than a woman giving birth at home.

This page was updated:05 Jan 2024