Drinking Water Contamination Means Legionnaires' Risk During Water Births

Babies born in water births are at risk of Legionnaire’s disease, an illness that has become a major concern of the utility industry because of its connection to water systems.

“Babies born during water births are at risk of contracting Legionnaires’ disease, a severe and potentially life-threatening form of pneumonia that infected two infants in Arizona last year. Both infants survived after receiving antibiotics,” The Washington Post reported.

A report released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the Arizona illnesses identified “numerous gaps in infection prevention for water births.”

The role of tap water in these illnesses is a major concern for the water utility industry.

“The first case was reported to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) during January 2016. The infant was delivered at home by a midwife on January 6, 2016 in a tub filled with tap water,” the CDC report said.

“The investigation revealed that a newly purchased birthing tub had been cleaned with vinegar and water before being filled with municipal tap water using a new drinking water hose immediately before the delivery. The mother delivered the child within an hour of entering the tub, and no aspiration by the infant was noted,” the report said.

The role of tap water was a major component of the investigation.

“Although the tub for delivery in the first case was filled immediately before the birth, tap water is not sterile, and Legionella can grow and spread in man-made water systems, such as plumbing systems. Because both tubs were emptied immediately after the births, no environmental sampling was performed,” the report said.

There are ways to reduce the risk of illness during water births.

“Although the risk for Legionella infection cannot be eliminated because of the need for warm tap water to fill the tub, it can be reduced by running hot water through the hose for 3 minutes before filling the tub to clear the hose and pipes of stagnant water and sediment,” the report said.  

Most cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the U.S. occur “in private homes with no common link other than their water supply, underscoring that drinking water distribution systems are the ultimate source of outbreaks,” Chemical & Engineering News reported.

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