A potential method to lower risk for surgical site infection during cesarean birth.

It's common practice to use a preparation containing chlorhexidine to prepare the surgical site before cesarean birth. We observed an interaction between ultrasound gel, used for electronic fetal heart monitoring before birth, and chlorhexidine. This interaction creates the potential for surgical site infection. Using isopropyl alcohol to thoroughly remove all gel before application of chlorhexidine was associated with reduced rates of postsurgical infection at our institution.