Allowing antibiotics prior cesarean section surgery rather than just after the newborn's umbilical cord is clamped cuts the infection rate at the surgical site in half, according to researchers. Researcher’s findings support giving antibiotics just before a cesarean section to prevent infections, until recently; standard practice in the United States was to give antibiotics when the baby was delivered, after the umbilical cord was clamped. The previous practice of waiting to give antibiotics until after the surgical delivery of the baby emerge out of concern that these drugs might hide signs of blood infection in the newborn. But alternative recent studies have shown that giving antibiotics in the hour before surgery both reduced the risk of infection in the mother and had no effect on the health of the infant. It was always a theoretical concern that giving antibiotics might somehow mask sepsis in the neonate. The year before the policy changed, the infection rate fluctuate around 9 to 10 infections per 100 cesarean deliveries. A descending trend in the infection rate began later the policy switch and by 2010; the rate was about two infections per 100 cesarean sections. The researchers also edged out that infection rates were cut relatively in half after the policy change despite the fact that there were significant boost in the number of patients who were overweight or obese over the course of the study. Having a higher body mass index is affiliate with increased risk of infection following surgery.

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