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How Is The Baby Treated While Mother Is Suffering From Hepatitis B Post Delivery?

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Posted on Thu, 9 Jan 2014
Question: If a mother delivers a child and finds out 3 weeks after that she has hep b, how is the baby treated and what does it mean for the child?
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (1 hour later)
Brief Answer: Hi and welcome to XXXXXXX Detailed Answer: Thanks for the query. It means that baby could have hep b too and in most cases become chronic carrier. It doesnt mean that this baby will develop liver disease,but hep b is very unpredictable and may be very serious. It would have been much better if hepatitis b was discovered before so the child would receive prophylaxis.Usually mothers are checked for hep at the beginning of pregnancy. But it cant be changed now. risk of transmission depends on whether the mother has a positive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) test. those with a positive HBeAg test have a transmission rate of 80%(if mother was infected in last 4 months), whereas those with a negative HBeAg test have a rate of transmission less than 10%(if mother was infected earlier). In every case the baby should get vaccine or HB immunoglobouline or both and get tested. Further management depends on test results. Fortunately, there was probably less than 10% risk of transmission and there are modern treatment methods today which are much more efficient than before. Usually if baby is hep b+,all it needs is frequent follow up and complications will be prevented. Wish you good health. Feel free to ask. Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (2 minutes later)
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Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich

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Practicing since :2008

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How Is The Baby Treated While Mother Is Suffering From Hepatitis B Post Delivery?

Brief Answer: Hi and welcome to XXXXXXX Detailed Answer: Thanks for the query. It means that baby could have hep b too and in most cases become chronic carrier. It doesnt mean that this baby will develop liver disease,but hep b is very unpredictable and may be very serious. It would have been much better if hepatitis b was discovered before so the child would receive prophylaxis.Usually mothers are checked for hep at the beginning of pregnancy. But it cant be changed now. risk of transmission depends on whether the mother has a positive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) test. those with a positive HBeAg test have a transmission rate of 80%(if mother was infected in last 4 months), whereas those with a negative HBeAg test have a rate of transmission less than 10%(if mother was infected earlier). In every case the baby should get vaccine or HB immunoglobouline or both and get tested. Further management depends on test results. Fortunately, there was probably less than 10% risk of transmission and there are modern treatment methods today which are much more efficient than before. Usually if baby is hep b+,all it needs is frequent follow up and complications will be prevented. Wish you good health. Feel free to ask. Regards