 Front page of the first edition | |
| Author | Ignaz Semmelweis |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Aetiologie, der Begriff und die Prophylaxis des Kindbettfiebers |
| Country | Austrian Empire |
| Language | German |
| Publisher | C. A. Hartleben's Verlag-Expedition |
Publication date | 1861 |
| Pages | 524 |
Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever (German: Die Ätiologie, der Begriff und die Prophylaxis des Kindbettfiebers) is a pioneering medical book by Ignaz Semmelweis published in 1861, which explains how hygiene in hospitals can drastically reduce unnecessary deaths. The book and concept saved millions of mothers from a preventable, streptococcal infection.
The book is 524 pages total and it is claimed to be one of the most comprehensive medical studies ever published. It includes studies in hospitals conducted in Vienna in 1847, and was translated into English by Kay Codell Carter in 1983.
Semmelweis's findings challenged conventional ideas about the incidence of puerperal fever (also known as postpartum infections or childbed fever), finding that it could be drastically reduced by requiring hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. He also cites bed hygiene by washing linens after each patient.
Puerperal fever was a deadly infection, common in mid-19th-century hospitals. Semmelweis proposed the practice of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in Vienna General Hospital's First Obstetrical Clinic, where doctors' wards had three times the mortality of midwives' wards.[1]
Semmelweis had his life ruined at the time of publication because his ideas, though now proved and trusted, seemed impossible. The book contains a 100 page section purely dedicated to disproving many of the claims his critics had made about his research and ideas. Due to said critique, Semmelweis’s personal life fell apart, leading to behavioral issues and his eventual death.
Despite this, in today's world Semmelweis is described as the "saviour of mothers."[2]
See also
References
Works cited
- Semmelweis Society International. "Dr Semmelweis' Biography". Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- Hanninen, O.; Farago, M.; Monos, E. (September–October 1983), "Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, the prophet of bacteriology", Infection Control, 4 (5): 367–370, doi:10.1017/S0195941700059762, PMID 6354955, S2CID 25830725, archived from the original on April 4, 2008, retrieved October 26, 2009,
Only the clinical facts proved him right during his lifetime; the triumph of bacteriology which began after his death made him not only the "savior of mothers" but also a genial ancestor of bacteriology.