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In maternity care, you’re often moving between non-sterile and sterile tasks throughout your shift. From performing vaginal examinations during labour and monitoring mum and baby, to assisting with procedures like suturing, instrumental births or caesarean sections, choosing the right PPE and gloves is essential for infection prevention, your safety, and maintaining patient confidence.¹
Maternity care often involves short, sterile procedures with a high risk of exposure to blood and bodily fluids, such as suturing, handling sterile instruments, or inserting invasive devices.
Surgical gloves have traditionally been the default choice. However, they are designed for long, complex operations, making them less suited to these quick, timesensitive tasks. They can add unnecessary cost, increase inventory demands, and slow clinical preparation.²
This mismatch is particularly evident in maternity settings, where efficiency, safety, and patient-centred care are critical.
Choosing the right glove for each task helps you and your team maintain high standards of care while making the best use of available resources.
This quick reference guide is designed to support you in making confident, evidence-based glove choices across common obstetric procedures, so you can focus on delivering safe, effective care.
*National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
These gloves provide a sterile solution for procedures that require aseptic technique, without the need for a full surgical glove.
Designed for the short, routine sterile tasks you perform every day in maternity care, it offers the right level of protection without the added complexity, cost, or preparation associated with traditional surgical gloves.
*Compared to standard 300mm long cuff examination glove
As maternity care evolves, glove selection should reflect the realities of your practice, not just tradition.
Sterile examination gloves are an appropriate choice when:
Use non-sterile gloves for routine exams and sterile gloves for invasive procedures. This simple approach facilitates maintaining both clinical safety measures as well as efficiency in your maternity practice.
REFERENCES:
1. Freitas J, Lomba A, Sousa S, Gonçalves V, Brois P, Nunes E, Veloso I, Peres D, Alves P. Consensus-Based Guidelines for Best Practices in the Selection and Use of Examination Gloves in Healthcare Settings. Nursing Reports. 2025; 15(1):9. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15010009
2. Morshedi B, Strohm S, James H, Springer C, Gould L, Thurman A, Slat S. Effect of sterile vs clean gloves for cervical checks in labor on maternal infection at term: a randomized trial. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM. 2023;5(6):100931. doi:10.1016/j.ajogmf.2023.100931
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