Globally, bacterial infections are the cause of 10% of maternal deaths—this is more common in low income countries but is also a direct cause of maternal deaths in high-income countries.In the United States, puerperal infections are believed to occur in between 1% and 8% of all births. About three die from puerperal sepsis for every 100,000 births. The single most important risk factor is Caesarean section. The number of maternal deaths in the United States is about 13 in 100,000. They make up about 11% of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States.In the United Kingdom from 1985–2005, the number of direct deaths associated with genital tract sepsis per 100,000 pregnancies was 0.40–0.85. In 2003–2005, genital tract sepsis accounted for 14% of direct causes of maternal death.Puerperal infections in the 18th and 19th centuries affected, on average, 6 to 9 women in every 1,000 births, killing two to three of them with peritonitis or sepsis. It was the single most common cause of maternal mortality, accounting for about half of all deaths related to childbirth, and was second only to tuberculosis in killing women of childbearing age. A rough estimate is that about 250,000–500,000 died from puerperal fever in the 18th and 19th centuries in England and Wales alone.
He did the same work in St. Rochus hospital in Pest, Hungary, and published his findings in 1860, but his discovery was again ignored.In 1935, Leonard Colebrook showed Prontosil was effective against haemolytic streptococcus and hence a cure for puerperal fever. Notable cases
Elite status was no protection against postpartum infections, as the deaths of several English queens attest. Elizabeth of York, queen consort of Henry VII, died of puerperal fever one week after giving birth to a daughter, who also died. Her son Henry VIII had two wives who died this way, Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr. Suzanne Barnard, mother of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, contracted childbed fever after giving birth to him and died nine days later. Her infant son was also in perilous health following the birth; the adult Rousseau later wrote that "I came into the world with so few signs of life that little hope was entertained of preserving me". He was nursed back to health by an aunt. French natural philosopher Émilie du Châtelet died in 1749. Mary Wollstonecraft, author of Vindication of the Rights of Woman, died ten days after giving birth to her second daughter, who grew up to write Frankenstein.