Operative vaginal delivery as an independent risk factor for maternal postpartum infectious morbidity.

Background: A recent study from the United Kingdom suggested that a single dosage of adjunctive amoxicillin/clavulanic acid with operative vaginal delivery reduces maternal infectious morbidity by 40% (from 19% to 11%). However, 89% of their study population received an episiotomy.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether operative vaginal delivery is an independent risk factor for composite maternal postpartum infectious morbidity in a population with a low episiotomy rate.