Effects of Discontinuing Cover Gowns on a Postpartal Ward upon Cord Colonization of the Newborn

To determine if the incidence of bacterial cord colonization in neonates increased when cover gowns were discontinued on a postpartal ward, a study was conducted. All infants who were admitted to and discharged from the well infant nursery at an Army medical center in Denver, Colorado, were cultured at the umbilicus at the time of admission and at discharge. The control group (N = 74) continued to gown as usual; the experimental group (N = 50) did not wear gowns. Visitors in both groups received the same instructions regarding handwashing. For all organisms, the control group demonstrated 80% colonization of infants who were negative on admission, and the experimental group demonstrated a colonization rate of 62%. When the chi square is applied, these data are statistically significant for P = 0.02 and P = 0.05. The experimental group had less colonization than the control group.