Hepatitis B during pregnancy?

[pikisina]

Hi, this is really scary now. i had aphone call from my midwife today saying that i need my blood test to be repeated. i asked why and she said that B/T came bak positive for hBV. I have no idea how I could i get it as I've been with my husband for 4 years and i'm 100% sure bout him. We have never done any drugs in our life, so hepatitis sounds quite a big surprise for us...Do you know anything about it?Am I right thinking that if I have been tested positive it might mean that i have antibodies but i don't have active virus.?How will it affect my baby?I dont have any symptoms whatsoever... nether my husband does.. I have repeate test and awaiting for results...Thanks a lot in advance

[LovinLife]

If you are pregnant, should you worry about hepatitis B?Yes, you should get a blood test to check for HBV infection early in your pregnancy. This test is called hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). If you test HBsAg-negative early in pregnancy, but continue behaviors that put you at risk for HBV infection (e.g., multiple sex partners, injection drug use), you should be retested for HBsAg close to delivery. If your HBsAg test is positive, this means you are infected with HBV and can give the virus to your baby. Babies who get HBV at birth might develop chronic HBV infection that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer. If your blood test is positive, your baby should receive the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine, along with another shot, hepatitis B immune globulin (called HBIG), at birth. The second dose of vaccine should be given at aged 1-2 months and the third dose at aged 6 months (but not before aged 24 weeks). What if I am pregnant and have hepatitis B?Ask your doctor to make sure your baby gets a shot called HBIG and the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Once your baby has this shot, it is safe to breastfeed your baby. But it is also important to make sure your baby completes all the hepatitis B vaccine doses, and is tested to make sure he or she is protected. What will happen if my baby gets hepatitis B?Most newborns who become infected with hepatitis B virus do not get sick at first, but they have a 90% chance of developing lifelong infection. If your child gets infected, he or she can develop serious liver damage and might get liver cancer later in life. But there is good news! Hepatitis B is preventable with a very safe and effective vaccine. You can protect your baby for life by making sure he or she vaccinated beginning at birth. Can hepatitis B vaccine be given during pregnancy or when breastfeeding?Yes, neither pregnancy nor breastfeeding should be considered a contraindication to vaccination of women. On the basis of limited experience, there is no apparent risk of adverse effects to developing fetuses when hepatitis B vaccine is administered to pregnant women. The vaccine contains noninfectious HBsAg particles and should cause no risk to the fetus. HBV infection affecting a pregnant woman might result in severe disease for the mother and chronic HBV infection for the newborn.

www.cdc.gov (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/faqb-pregnancy.htm)

[morati m]

sometimes we get infections from sharing small things like razors , having tatooes or even unknowly getting exposed.may be at a beauty palor, like if they dont clean their equipment proper. may be you have been exposed to someones blood and you didnt even see that.i also understand that sometimes we can have infections and never have an outbreak. you might have long time had it bofore you married.i know lots of people who have HIV but will never have an out break, we call people like that carriersthe funny part is they are still able to pass it but it can never be traced in their blood.as for the baby, it is a good thing that they have detected it before birth, that is if you really have it.it is not a decent thing to go through but it is not life threatining to an unborn child. there are always medication \methods that are used to prevent transmissions from mother to child just like with HIV and aids.you will just have follow the doctors orders and all will be perfect with you and the child. there is no cure for this kind of infection but you can live positively with it.good luck