Summary

Prevention of infection in nurseries involves considera-tion of the design of hospitals, wards and equipment, the study of nursing and domestic procedures, the monitoring of environmental flora and the planning of antiseptic and antibiotic policies. These subjects cannot be considered in isolation from each other and are most suitably managed by a Control of Infection Committee. Ultimately the safety of infants in nurseries rests upon the degree to which each individual involved in their care pays attention to the agreed policies of general and personal hygiene. STUDIES of perinatal mortality and morbidity such as those carried out by the National Birthday Trust (Butler and Alberman, 1969), have shown that many deaths and serious illnesses of the neonate ar