Hepatitis B during pregnancy can be dangerous, especially for the baby, as there is a high risk that the pregnant woman will infect the baby at the time of delivery.
However, contamination can be prevented if a woman is vaccinated against hepatitis B before becoming pregnant or after the second trimester of pregnancy.In addition, within the first 12 hours after birth, the baby should receive the vaccine and immunoglobulin injections to fight the virus so as not to develop hepatitis B.
- Hepatitis B during pregnancy can be diagnosed by a Blood Test HbsAg and anti-HBc.
- Which are part of mandatory prenatal care.
- After confirming that the pregnant party is infected.
- You should consult a hepatologist to indicate appropriate treatment.
- Which can only be done with rest and diet or with appropriate liver medications.
- Depending on the severity and stage of the disease.
All women who have not received the hepatitis B vaccine and are at risk of developing the disease should be vaccinated before becoming pregnant to protect themselves and the baby.
Pregnant women who have never received the vaccine or who have an incomplete schedule can take this vaccine during pregnancy, starting at 13 weeks gestation, because it is safe.
Learn more about the hepatitis B vaccine
Treatment for acute hepatitis B during pregnancy includes rest, hydration, and a low-fat diet, which help the liver recover.To avoid baby contamination, your doctor may suggest vaccines and immunoglobulins.
In the case of chronic hepatitis B during pregnancy, even if the pregnant woman has no symptoms, the doctor may prescribe the use of certain doses of an antiviral known as Lamivudine to reduce the patient’s risk of contamination.Baby.
In addition to lamivudine, your doctor may also prescribe immunoglobulin injections to the pregnant woman to take during the last months of pregnancy, in order to decrease the viral load in the blood to decrease your baby’s risk of infection.The decision is made by the hepatologist, who is the specialist who should indicate the best treatment.
Risks of hepatitis B during pregnancy can occur for both pregnant women and babies:
Pregnant women, when not treated for hepatitis B and do not follow the hepatologist’s guidelines, can develop serious liver diseases, such as cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer, with damage that may be irreversible.
Hepatitis B during pregnancy is usually transmitted to the baby at birth, through contact with the mother’s blood, and in rarer cases, placental contamination is also possible, so shortly after birth the baby should receive a dose of hepatitis B vaccine and an immunoglobulin injection within 12 hours of delivery and two more doses of the vaccine during the first and sixth months life.
Breastfeeding can usually be done because the hepatitis B virus does not pass into breast milk.Learn more about breastfeeding.
To ensure that the baby, a mother’s child with acute or chronic hepatitis B, is not infected, it is recommended that the mother follow the treatment proposed by the doctor and that the baby, immediately after birth, be vaccinated against hepatitis B and specific immunoglobulin injections against hepatitis B.
Approximately 95% of babies treated in this way at birth are not infected with hepatitis B virus.
Signs and symptoms of acute hepatitis B during pregnancy include
In chronic hepatitis B, pregnant women usually have no symptoms, although this also poses risks to the baby.
Learn all about hepatitis B.