Overview

Hepatitis B is a disease caused by a virus that infects the liver. You can spread the virus to your newborn. To protect your baby, your doctor will treat them as soon as you give birth. This is very important. Children who get the virus at birth often have a long-term infection. This type of infection damages liver cells. And it can lead to serious liver disease.

You may not have any symptoms. Or you may be very tired and feel sick to your stomach. You may feel itchy. Your skin and eyes may look yellow. Most people get better in 4 to 8 weeks with simple care at home. But in some cases, hepatitis B is a lifelong infection.

How can you care for yourself at home?

To protect your baby

• Tell all doctors and health professionals who treat you or your baby during labour, delivery, and recovery that you have hepatitis B. Your baby needs two shots in the first 12 hours of life. These shots may be given in the delivery room, right after birth. One shot is hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG). The other shot is the hepatitis B vaccine.
• It is safe to breastfeed your baby if they get their HBIG shot and first hepatitis B vaccine within 12 hours of birth. And you can start safely breastfeeding before your baby gets these shots. If you plan to breastfeed, take care of your nipples so they do not crack and bleed. Hepatitis B can spread by infected blood.
  • You can help prevent cracked nipples by feeding your baby with a good latch and by getting breastfeeding help early on. Talk to your doctor or midwife or a lactation consultant if you need help or your nipples become sore.
  • If your nipples become cracked and bleed, avoid breastfeeding until your nipples are healed. To keep up your milk supply, express your milk (by hand or breast pump) and throw the milk away until your nipples are healed. You can give your baby donor human milk or formula until it’s OK to breastfeed again. Talk to your doctor or midwife or lactation consultant if you have questions.
• Make sure that your baby gets all follow-up vaccines. Follow-up treatment is a very important part of protecting your baby from infection.

To take care of yourself

• Follow your doctor or midwife's advice to have a healthy pregnancy. Having hepatitis B means that you should take extra steps to take care of yourself.
  • If you are tired, take it easy and get enough rest.
  • Make sure that your doctor or midwife knows all the medicines you take. Some medicines, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), can make liver problems worse. Do not take any new medicines, including over-the-counter medicines, unless your doctor or midwife says it is okay.
  • If your doctor prescribes antiviral medicine, take it exactly as directed. Do not stop or change a medicine without talking to your doctor first.
  • If you feel sick to your stomach, try to eat small, frequent meals instead of three large meals.
  • Drink plenty of fluids. If you have kidney, heart, or liver disease and have to limit fluids, talk with your doctor or midwife before you increase the amount of fluids you drink.
  • If you have itchy skin, keep cool, stay out of the sun, and wear loose-fitting clothing.