What practice did Ignaz Semmelweis advocate to reduce maternal mortality?

• A. Quarantine
• B. Sterilization of instruments
• C. Handwashing
• D. Vaccination

Answer: (C)

Hand hygiene is the key idea here. Semmelweis connected the high rates of maternal death from puerperal fever to the transfer of infectious material from doctors’ hands after performing autopsies to laboring patients. He demonstrated that washing hands with a chlorinated lime solution between patients dramatically reduced deaths, showing that interrupting the direct transmission of pathogens at the point of care can save lives. This is the foundational example of how a simple hygiene practice can prevent hospital- or clinic-acquired infections.

Quarantine focuses on separating sick individuals, which isn’t addressing the specific transmission route Semmelweis identified in the delivery setting. Sterilization of instruments is important, but his pivotal change was handwashing before patient contact, not just cleaning tools. Vaccination wouldn’t apply to puerperal fever in his era, since vaccines for the responsible pathogens did not exist at that time.