Infection prevention and control for HIV and other infectious agents in obstetric, gynecologic and neonatal settings.

Personnel working in obstetric and gynecologic settings have long recognized their increased risks for infection with the hepatitis B virus and many have been immunized with hepatitis B vaccine. Staphylococcus aureus cross-transmission among neonates in newborn nurseries in the 1950s was a major impetus for the development of hospital infection control programs. In recent years, however, it is concerns about infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that have caused health care workers and hospitals to rethink traditional infection risk reduction strategies and change them. This article describes infection risks peculiar to obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal settings and presents practical approaches for reducing these risks, both for patients and for health care workers.