Legionnaires’ disease in birthing pool
In June this year a very rare case of Legionnaires’ disease was reported in a new born baby. Samples taken from a heated birthing pool in which a child was born tested positive for Legionella bacteria. In light of this tens of thousands of women across the UK have been warned against home water births and the use of heated birthing pools until a complete risk assessment and management strategy have been put into place.
Professor Nick Phin, head of Legionnaires' disease control at Public Health England, said "This is an extremely unusual situation, which we are taking very seriously. As a precaution, we advise that heated birthing pools, filled in advance of labour and where the temperature is then maintained by use of a heater and pump, are not used in the home setting, while we investigate further and until definitive advice on disinfection and safety is available."
How to prevent Legionella from occuring ?
Using lab culture techniques it will have taken several days to establish that the Legionella bacterium was a possible cause of the disease. While the wisdom of this birthing technique may be questioned, it remains a matter for parents to decide. What is clear is that well intentioned management will not definitely establish that a birthing pool is safe or not. This can only be done by on-site immediate testing. The condition of any given pool will vary from hour to hour and it would seem to be extremely ill-advised to expose any mother far less newborn babies to this risk without testing the water first. Clearly a role for rapid testing.