Chapter 5: Preventing infection
Use sterilized tongs, chopsticks, or spoons to pick the tools out of the pot. Move
them directly to a sterilized container. Remember, if the tool touches anything,
including your hands, it is no longer sterile.
Let the tools dry in the sterilized container. Cover the container
with a sterilized cloth or paper to keep dust out.
When the tools are all dry, put the lid on the container
and seal it with tape or some other material to keep the
germs out.
Boiling
Use boiling to sterilize metal tools, rubber or
plastic equipment (like mucus bulbs), and cloth.
After you wash and rinse your tools, cover with
water and boil for 20 minutes.
Start counting the 20 minutes when the water
starts boiling.
Use sterilized tongs, chopsticks, or spoons to pick the tools out of the pot. Move
them directly to a sterilized container. Remember, anything you touch is no longer
sterile.
Steaming
Use steaming to sterilize metal tools,
gloves, plastic equipment, and other tools.
A steaming pot has 3 parts that
fit together tightly: one pot on the bottom
to boil water in, one pot in the middle that
has holes in its bottom, and a lid.
a lid
one pot
with holes
in the
bottom
Boil a little water in the bottom pot. Put the tools into
the steamer pot with the holes. Cover with the lid.
Steam over boiling water for at least 20 minutes.
Start counting the 20 minutes when the water
starts boiling.
steaming pot method
one pot on
the bottom
to boil water
in
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A Book for Midwives (2010)