A UAB-UNC School of Medicine collaboration found that a single oral dose of the common antibiotic azithromycin reduced the risk of maternal sepsis or death by 33 percent in women who delivered vaginally.
Maternal infections and sepsis, which is a serious complication of infections, are among the top five causes of maternal mortality worldwide. Maternal infection also increases the risk of neonatal sepsis, which accounts for 16 percent of newborn deaths.

A new study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine provides evidence that a single oral dose of azithromycin, a common antibiotic, reduced the risk of maternal sepsis or death by 33 percent in women who delivered vaginally. Published results were presented simultaneously at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting in San Francisco, California.

The Azithromycin Prevention in Labor Use Study, or A-PLUS trial, led by investigators from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine and conducted in collaboration with the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, found that azithromycin given to patients planning vaginal delivery reduced maternal infections.

Source: https://news.unchealthcare.org/2023/02/single-dose-of-azithromycin-reduces-maternal-sepsis-or-death/