[Staphylococci in the skin microbiocenosis of the breasts in pregnant women].

The microflora of the mammary glands in the area of the nipple, the areola and the adjacent skin was studied by the methods of washings and impression. 120 nonpregnant women and 164 pregnant women were examined. The pregnant women showed a higher level of the contamination of the above-mentioned sites. The highest density of bacterial population was detected in the area of the nipple and the lowest density, on the skin surrounding the areola. Coagulase-negative staphylococci proved to be the most numerous organisms among all bacterial population found on the skin of the mammary glands of pregnant women. Of these staphylococci, S. epidermidis was most frequently isolated, its isolation rate being higher in the pregnant women than in the nonpregnant ones.