Can Hepatitis B Be Transmitted To Children?

Hepatitis B is a disease spread in the community through sex, blood transfusion and from mother to child, which is mainly from mother to child. Vietnam is a country with a high proportion of people infected with hepatitis B, accounting for about 15% - 20% of the population. It is worth mentioning that up to 90% - 95% of mothers infected with the hepatitis B virus infect children.
What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a viral infection that affects the liver. When people suffer from this disease symptoms can be jaundice, yellowing of the eyes, fatigue, anorexia, vomiting, abdominal pain and pain

. Infection with hepatitis B through close contact with blood, other body fluids or through sex without a condom.
The moment when hepatitis B virus is transmitted from mother to child
There are three times when hepatitis B virus can be transmitted from mother to child: During pregnancy, during labor and breastfeeding.
During pregnancy
The rate of hepatitis B transmission from mother to child during pregnancy is very low, not more than 2% The reason is that the blood between the pregnant mother and the fetus is not in contact with each other but is separated by a placental barrier, this is also a place for exchanging nutrients.




In early pregnancy, the placenta will consist of four layers: capillary endothelial tissue, connective tissue, cell-foliar leaves and synaptic foliar leaves. But after the 4th month - during pregnancy, the leaves of the cell will disappear, the leaves of the syncytium will become very thin and the connective tissue will be significantly reduced. This leads to a very fragile placental barrier.
So even a slight concussion can damage the placental barrier, increasing the mother's ability to expose her blood to the fetus' blood to spread the hepatitis B virus.
During labor
The rate of transmission of hepatitis B virus from mother to child during this period reaches more than 90%. During contraction of uterine labor, the blood vessels where the placenta attaches are also constricted, which can make the mother's blood in direct contact with the baby's blood, or when the baby goes through the mother's vaginal tube, it will come into contact with the negative fluid. The religion also causes children to become infected with hepatitis B from their mothers
Lactation period
The probability of infection during this period is very low, extremely rare cases of children infected with the hepatitis B virus during breastfeeding.



Although HBV DNA has been detected in HBsAg-positive mothers' colostrum, the concentration is very low, so the probability of transmission through these fluids is also very low.
If infection occurs during this period, the cause may be due to the problem of the mother's nipple, the lesion of the baby's mouth, the serum containing the hepatitis B virus that comes into contact with the baby's blood when the baby feeds directly. .
Therefore, mothers who have hepatitis B during breastfeeding need to practice taking care of the prevention of nipple bleeding when they breastfeed their babies properly and keep the nipple hygiene before and after they breastfeed.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis B during pregnancy?
In the case of a pregnant woman infected for the first time, the signs include:
- Jaundice
- The skin or whites of the eyes turn yellow and the urine turns brown or orange.
- Light colored stools.
- Fever
- Fatigue lasts for weeks or months.
- Stomach problems like anorexia, nausea and vomiting
- Stomachache.




Persistent fatigue is a symptom of hepatitis B during pregnancy
How does hepatitis B affect the fetus?
The hepatitis B virus lives most in the mother's blood and genital secretions and does not cross the placenta. So it will not affect the fetal development as much as other viruses (rubella, flu, ...). Pregnant women infected with hepatitis B are not the cause of birth defects, but the proportion of babies born at low birth weight is higher.
If you have severe hepatitis B in the last 3 months of pregnancy, pregnant women will be at risk of preterm birth. Therefore, the most important thing for a mother with hepatitis B is to know how to prevent the possibility of infection to the fetus.




Infants who are infected with the hepatitis B virus have a 90% higher risk of becoming carriers and spreading the virus to others. When reaching adulthood, about 25% of cases will be at risk of dying from cirrhosis or liver cancer.
Causes of hepatitis B in pregnancy
Besides transmission through blood transfusion, sex, hepatitis B is mainly transmitted from mother to child. When pregnant women are infected with the hepatitis B virus, it can be passed on to the fetus. During the first 3 months of pregnancy, the rate of mother to child transmission is 1%, if the mother is infected in the third trimester of pregnancy, the rate of infection to the child is 10% and will increase the rate of transmission. infect the child up to 60-70% if the mother is infected in the last 3 months of pregnancy. The risk of transmitting the disease to the fetus can be up to 90% if no protection is taken immediately after birth, 50% of these children will have chronic hepatitis and risk of cirrhosis in adulthood.
A mother who is infected with hepatitis B before becoming pregnant can occur during pregnancy.



Pregnancy is not a factor that makes hepatitis B worse in mothers, whereas hepatitis B does not adversely affect the pregnancy or the fetus. The pregnancy progresses normally, the fetus develops well and there is no risk of birth defects. Only when a mother has severe hepatitis B in stage III of pregnancy will she be at risk of having a full baby.

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