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Hepatitis B during Pregnancy

14 October, 2009, Pregnancy - No Comment

Hepatitis B during pregnancy can cause a major health risk for you and your baby, if it is not treated immediately. The infection of Hepatitis B is related to the liver functionality. If you neglect this infection, it can become more complicated leading to serious liver diseases and even cancer of liver. Till today no medicine has been discovered to cure this infection, although it can be prevented through Hepatitis B vaccine.

Most of the infected people have to wait for a long period of time to recover from the infection on their own without any medication. While the adult human being can put up with the infection of Hepatitis B, for newborns the effect becomes disastrous. In case you are infected with this virus during your pregnancy, then there is a high chance for your baby to get infected with the same.

The virus can travel to his body through the umbilical cord. Even if he is not infected during his stay inside your body, he will certainly get the infection during the birth process. When your newborn gets the infection, in most of the cases he will become a carrier of the virus. He will also be susceptible to develop various liver ailments, including jaundice, liver cirrhosis, liver cancer etc. In case, your baby shows positive for Hepatitis B virus, initially you may not find any symptoms. However as your baby grows, gradually the symptoms like fatigue, joint pain, nausea, less appetite etc will be noticed. The virus will cause severe damage to the liver of your child.

To avoid all these adverse situations, it is always better to test yourself for Hepatitis B virus. In case, you are affected with the virus, then wait for complete recovering before you go for a baby. However, if you have already conceived, then special care will be taken for your baby, once he is born. An effective Hepatitis B vaccine will be administered to your baby immediately after his birth. He should also remain under regular medical attention until he recovers completely.

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