Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if bacterial growth occurred in the amniotic
fluid of laboring women. Twenty patients who required an intrauterine pressure catheter (IUPC)
during labor were studied. Amniotic fluid samples were aspirated during labor and at the time of
delivery.Methods: IUPCs were placed in laboring patients for a variety of reasons. Cervical cultures were
taken prior to insertion of an IUPC. After the IUPC was placed, amniotic fluid cultures were taken
both at the time of placement and 30 minutes prior to delivery. These cultures were sent for aerobic,
anaerobic, Mycoplasma, and Ureaplasma cultures.Results: The increase in bacterial concentration from the initial sample to the final sample was
statistically significant (P < 0.01) for both aerobes and anaerobes. Amniotic fluid samples demonstrated
a median of 0 bacterial species per patient on initial collection and 2 bacterial species per
patient in final collection. The mean count of cfu for erobes in the initial amniotic samples was
3.5 ×