Infection is common in newborn babies and neonatal infection is one of the major causes of their deaths.
Can you remember why there is a higher risk of infection in newborns than in older children or adults?
This means that newborns are especially vulnerable to exposure to infectious agents during pregnancy, delivery and in the home after the birth. The most common risk factors for newborn infection are prolonged premature rupture of the fetal membranes (PROM), prolonged labour or obstructed labour, and pre-existing lower genital tract infection in the mother. We first consider eye infections in newborns.