INFORMATION FOR WOMEN WHO HAVE STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS INFECTION DURiNG PREGNANCY OR BREASTFEEDING

What is Staphylococcus aureus infection?

Staphylococcus aureus is a species of bacteria that lives on the skin, or in the nose, of many people. As long as it stays in these areas of the body, S. aureus is not harmful, but it can produce severe disease if it penetrates into the body through a wound or other opening. Infection with S. aureus can come from one’s own skin, or through contact with somebody else. Doctors and public health officials are particularly concerned with a strain of S. aureus called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA has its name, because it is resistant to (does not stop growing when exposed to) a particular antibiotic called methicillin that kills other strains (called methicillin-sensitive S. aureus strains, “MSSA”), but MRSA also resists treatment with various other antibiotics. Because it can be on the hands of anybody, including hospital visitors who don’t normally wash their hands, patients are vulnerable to MRSA through wounds and incisions (including minor openings between the air and blood that can happen during a vaginal delivery), and even simple intravenous lines. This can include pregnant women.