Hepatitis B is a serious viral infection that causes inflammation of the liver. During pregnancy it can be responsible for serious complications in the fetus.
Most commonly found in women between the ages of fifteen and thirty nine the incidence of hepatitis B is rising and your doctor may routinely screen for hepatitis B during your first prenatal visit.
There are no symptoms of hepatitis B for most people who contract the virus. Symptoms that do appear include jaundiceThe yellow staining of the skin, mucus membranes and sclerae of the eyes, caused by excessive quantities of bilirubin in the blood.
Jaundice may cause nausea, vomitting and abdominal pain, as well as unusually dark urine.
Jaundice is a symptom of many disorders including liver disease, biliary obstruction and hemolytic anemias. Newborn babies often develop physiological jaundice which disappears after a few days.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions., darker urine, lighter stools. You may also experience flu-like symptoms, nausea, and possibly pain in the liver area. Symptoms may take up to six months to develop.
Although most people recover from an infection of hepatitis B, some people suffer from the symptoms for several months. Some people are permanent carriers of the hepatitis B virus and will always remain infectious. If your doctor suspects that you have hepatitis B the diagnosis will be confirmed with a blood test.
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Hepatitis is an infection that can be contracted through saliva, semen and vaginal fluid. The virus is most commonly transmitted through sexual activity and is considered a sexually transmitted disease even though there are other methods of infection. Barrier contraceptives are not sufficient protection against the transmission of hepatitis B.
The virus can also be contracted through the use of shared intravenous needles including those used for body piercing and tattoos. Groups most at risk for hepatitis B infection are health care workers, intravenous drug users, homosexual men and prostitutes.
If you have an active hepatitis B infection at the beginning of your pregnancy there is a risk that the virus will transmit to the baby and may result in fetal death. About one quarter of babies born to mothers with hepatitis B become chronic carriers of the disease and risk liver damage or cancer of the liver.
After delivery your baby will be treated for hepatitis B. It will be bathed immediately after delivery to completely remove traces of maternal blood, before receiving a shot of hepatitis B vaccine. Many hospitals recommend that all babies are vaccinated for hepatitis B after delivery.
There is currently no cure for hepatitis B. There is a vaccine for the infection, which is administered in three doses over a period of six months: the second shot given one month after the first and five months before the last.
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