Does antibiotic treatment for pelvic infection treat caesarean wound infection?

A caesarean wound infection affects the incision and nearby skin or deeper tissue. Pelvic infection treatment is selected for organisms and sites inside the pelvis. Some medicines may overlap, but that does not make them interchangeable. A clinician may examine the wound, check for redness, warmth, swelling, drainage, separation or increasing tenderness, and decide whether a swab, drainage procedure or different antibiotic is needed.

Contact the maternity team, surgeon or healthcare professional who provided your postnatal care if the incision is becoming more painful, red or swollen, or if fluid is coming from it. Keep the area clean and dry, wash your hands before touching the dressing, and take only the medicine prescribed for this infection. Do not use leftover antibiotics or stop a prescribed course because the skin looks better.

Seek urgent medical help for fever with worsening wound pain, rapidly spreading redness, pus, wound opening, faintness, confusion, breathing difficulty or feeling severely unwell. These signs can indicate a deeper or spreading infection and need prompt assessment.

Ask whether the infection is limited to the skin, whether the wound needs opening or drainage, which medicine targets the suspected bacteria, and what changes should prompt a same-day review.