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serious h e alth consequences becaus e of the av a i l ab i l i t y
po tent antimicrob ial a g e nts i n t hese rich c ou ntrie s [ 45] .
In developing countries however , prevailing obstetri c
conditions a r e such that high r ates o f exposure to infective
agents occur before pregnancy (46,47], during and after l a b o u r
[4 8 ]. Facilities for controlling a n d e ven man ag ing cases wh en
they occu r a r e also very limited ( 46] . Wome n i n t hese p oor
com mun i ties are not only at inc reased risk of devel op ing
puer peral inf ective c ondit ions but also SUf f e r f r om their
sequela e [ 47 , 48J.
PUerperal uppe r genital t r aot infect ion:
s ince historica l times t his t ype of puer per a l
complication h a s command ed a grea t d eal of a t tention, a nd 15
still the mo s t important pu erperal dis o rder I n many co u n t. r Ies
[ 12,45,49 ,50J . I t i s no w we l l known t h a t a fter pa r tur itio n t.he
r esultin g p l acenta b ed a nd de c idua are an o pportu ne sit e fo r
infection. The infecting ag ents could be newly intro d uced
pathogens by unhygienic l a bou r practic es o r may ari s e from t he
mothers own vag i nal t'l o r a [3 0, 49] .
In t h e developed world , extensive stud ies have been done
to i d e n t i f y causative agents and specific risk factors
{5 1 , 52 ) ; in t h e poor c o u nt r i e s , a ccurate data, o n the a ctual
i nc i de nce o f thi s complication i s still u n available i n most
parts . The few s t udie s done however, have s h own t hat i n the