After Semmelweis' advice, death rates dropped from about 35% to what level?

• A. 10%
• B. 5%
• C. 20%
• D. 1%

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is how a simple change in practice—handwashing with an antiseptic—could massively reduce deaths from a postpartum infection. Semmelweis noticed that women delivering in hospital wards were dying from puerperal fever far more often when doctors performed autopsies and then attended births without washing. By instituting compulsory handwashing with a chlorinated lime solution, the transmission of infection dropped dramatically. The death rate fell from about 35% to around 1%, a huge improvement that shows how breaking the chain of infection through hygiene can save lives. This example also helped push forward the understanding that contamination could be prevented by simple antiseptic measures, long before germ theory was fully accepted.