Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Pregnancy When You Have Hepatitis

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Medical Video: Healthy Pregnancy 101

Not surprisingly, many pregnant women are totally unaware that they have been infected with the hepatitis virus. Usually because the symptoms can only be felt vaguely, or may not appear at all. And of course, if you are diagnosed with hepatitis during pregnancy, one of your biggest concerns is about the impact on pregnancy itself as well as your child in the womb. This article will explore all of your questions about hepatitis during pregnancy.

Why should pregnant women be aware of hepatitis?

Hepatitis is a serious liver inflammation that can be easily transmitted to other people. This disease is caused by viral hepatitis. There are several types of hepatitis viruses, including hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. If not handled properly, hepatitis during pregnancy can cause severe illness, liver damage, and even death. Mothers can also spread the virus to their babies.

Hepatitis B and C are the most common types of hepatitis that occur during pregnancy. Hepatitis B is the most common form of hepatitis transmitted from mother to baby worldwide, with an increased risk if you live in a developing country.

About 90% of pregnant women with acute hepatitis B infection will "inherit" the virus to their babies. About 10-20% of women with chronic hepatitis B infection will transmit it. About 4% of pregnant women infected with the hepatitis C virus will spread it to their babies. The risk of spreading the disease from mother to child is also related to how much virus (viral load) in the mother's body and whether she is also infected with HIV.

How can you get hepatitis while pregnant?

Hepatitis B and C spread through infected blood and body fluids - eg vaginal or semen fluids. That means you can get it from unprotected sex with an infected person, or get stabbed with used needles used by someone who is infected - both drug needles, tattoo needles, and non-sterile medical needles. However, the risk of getting hepatitis C through sex is low if you only have one partner for a long time.

Hepatitis C is most common in people born between 1945 and 1965. For this reason, all people in this age group must be tested for hepatitis C infection.

What are the symptoms of hepatitis during pregnancy?

Symptoms of hepatitis include nausea and vomiting, always tired, loss of appetite, fever, abdominal pain (especially on the right side, location of the liver), pain in muscles and joints, and jaundice aka jaundice - yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes. The problem is, symptoms may not appear for months or years after infection, or you may not show symptoms at all.

What impact does hepatitis have on pregnancy on maternal health?

Hepatitis B infection can heal completely within a few weeks without treatment. Pregnant women who are free of the hepatitis B virus will become immune to it. They can't get the virus again. But unlike hepatitis B virus infection, most adults who are infected with the hepatitis C virus (about 75% to 85%) become a person the carrier, aka "host" of a virus. Mostly the carrier hepatitis develops long-term liver disease. A few others will develop liver cirrhosis and other serious life-threatening liver problems.

Pregnancy itself will not speed up the disease process or worsen it, even if the liver has been burdened and injured with cirrhosis, this can increase the risk of pregnant women experiencing fatty liver. Fatty liver during acute pregnancy may be related to a deficiency of an enzyme that is usually produced by the liver which allows pregnant women to metabolize fatty acids. This condition can quickly become severe, and can also affect unborn children (who may also be born with this enzyme deficiency).

Another complication that can occur in mothers with hepatitis during pregnancy is gallstones, which often cause jaundice during pregnancy. This occurs in 6% of all pregnancies, partly because of changes in bile salts during pregnancy. In addition, the gallbladder empties itself more slowly during pregnancy, which means that bile is pooled longer in the liver and the risk of gallstones increases.

If you have hepatitis B during pregnancy, it is estimated that you may be more prone to developing premature rupture of membranes, gestational diabetes, and / or experiencing heavy bleeding at the end of pregnancy. There is also an increased risk of labor complications such as placenta abruption and infant mortality at birth.

What effect does hepatitis have on pregnancy in infants - both while in the womb and after birth?

Infants in the womb are generally not affected by the mother's hepatitis virus during pregnancy. However, there may be a certain increase in the risk of childbirth, such as premature babies, low birth weight babies (LBW), or infant anatomical and functional abnormalities (especially in chronic hepatitis B infection).

Another risk is that your baby can be infected at birth. Babies may be infected with hepatitis B at birth if a positive mother has the virus. Usually, this disease is passed on to children exposed to maternal blood and vaginal fluid during labor. Hepatitis B virus infection can be very severe in infants. That could threaten their lives. If the child is infected with the hepatitis B virus during childhood, most of the cases will continue to be chronic. Chronic hepatitis is what can have a negative impact on children's health in the future, which is in the form of liver damage (cirrhosis) and sometimes liver cancer (especially if accompanied by hepatitis C virus infection).

On the other hand, there is little chance for you to reduce the hepatitis C virus to the baby. Only 4-6% of babies born to hepatitis C positive mothers will be infected with the virus. This means that almost all babies born to mothers with hepatitis C will not get the virus. The risk of new hepatitis C transmission from mother to child increases if the mother has a high viral load or at the same time has HIV at the same time.

How to deal with hepatitis while pregnant?

When you go to the doctor for your first prenatal visit, you will undergo a series of routine blood tests, including checking the hepatitis B virus (HBV). If your test results are HBV negative and have not received the hepatitis B vaccine, your doctor may recommend that you be immunized, especially if you are at high risk of contracting this disease.

If you have just been exposed to hepatitis during pregnancy, you may also be given an immunoglobulin vaccine to prevent you from getting this disease. This vaccine is safe for pregnant women and developing babies. In the case of further positive hepatitis (high viral load) it may be necessary to deal with an antiviral drug called tenofovir, which can reduce the risk of HBV transfer to your baby.

Meanwhile, there are no vaccines available to date to protect the hepatitis C virus. Avoiding this type of risk behavior is the only way to prevent this type of infection. If you are positive for hepatitis C, you will not be able to get the standard medication used to treat hepatitis C when you are pregnant. Medications for hepatitis C infection are not safe for your unborn baby. The main treatment is a combination of two drugs called pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Other drugs can sometimes be added: either boceprevir or telaprevir. However, none of these drugs have proven safe during pregnancy and ribavirin can cause serious birth defects, or even death of an unborn baby.

Normal vaginal delivery and caesarean section are as safe for hepatitis B and C patients. There is no difference in the rate of transmission known when comparing the two methods of labor. The risk is the same regardless of whether the birth occurs through normal labor or by caesarean section.

Should my baby have hepatitis immunization?

Yes. All babies are vaccinated against the hepatitis B virus. If you are not infected with the hepatitis B virus, babies still need to get the first dose of vaccine before you leave the hospital. If it cannot be given at that time, the vaccine must be given within 2 months after birth. The remaining doses are given in the next 6-18 months. All three HBV injections are needed for lifelong protection, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all babies receive them, regardless of their condition.

If you are infected with hepatitis B, your doctor will give hepatitis B antibody injections for your baby within 12 hours after giving birth. This vaccine is enough to provide short-term protection for babies against the virus. Antibodies and vaccines together will be effective in preventing infections in infants up to 85-95 percent.

If you are infected with the hepatitis C virus, babies can usually be tested from the age of eight weeks using the PCR viral detection test. This should be followed by another PCR test within 4-6 weeks thereafter and a hepatitis C antibody test when the baby is 12-18 months old.

If your baby is positive for hepatitis C, he will get further treatment. He must routinely carry out physical examinations, blood tests and possible ultrasound scans or other tests. Not all children with hepatitis C are given prescription drugs. Treatment of hepatitis C in children varies and depends on what is best for each child.

Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Pregnancy When You Have Hepatitis
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