Puerperal infection from the perspective of humanized delivery care at a public maternity hospital.

This is an epidemiological, prospective and non-concurrent study of the cohort type about puerperal infection from the perspective of humanized delivery care, based on information from 5,178 records of patients who went through the experience of humanized delivery. The study aimed at describing the women who underwent humanized delivery, determining the incidence and time for manifestation of puerperal infections and investigating the association between the infection and the risk factors. An accumulated puerperal infection rate of 2.92% was found. The risk factors associated to puerperal infection in Cesarean delivery were the duration of labor and the number of digital examinations. No variable behaved as a risk factor for infection in normal delivery. Cesarean delivery was an important risk factor for puerperal infection. The results reinforce the need to develop alternative forms of delivery care that provides effective conditions for normal delivery, in order to reduce the number of Cesarean sections.