Hassle-free pregnancy, easy childbirth, the birth of a healthy baby is all that every sensible woman dreams of. But not everyone has a period of expectation and the birth of a baby goes smoothly. Due to a weakened immunity, the body of expectant mothers is susceptible to various diseases, in which case doctors need to take measures to preserve the pregnancy and the full birth of the baby. This article will discuss one of the most serious topics about how birth with hepatitis C goes.
What it is?
A similar diagnosis for expectant mothers sounds like a sentence. What kind of disease is hepatitis C and how is it transmitted? This is a viral disease, the affected area of which is the liver. It is transmitted only in one way - through the blood. The main problem is that at an early stage the disease is very difficult to recognize, and then it develops into a chronic form.
Causes
The number of patients with similar diagnoses is increasing annually. In total, there are several main reasons why absolutely healthy people become carriers of this virus:
- The use of narcotic substances. One injection is enough for hepatitis to enter the body.
- Drawing a tattoo.
- Manicure. The infection can be transmitted to the client during the implementation of the cosmetic procedure through manicure scissors.
- Blood transfusion or use of a syringe after a sick patient.
- Sharing with a carrier of infection with scissors, razors and other personal hygiene items.
- Unprotected intercourse.
If the disease was detected in the mother, then hepatitis C can naturally occur in children. The virus enters the body of the crumbs through the placenta or the birth canal. It is important to remember that hepatitis C is not transmitted by contact in the household or by airborne droplets, it penetrates the body only through the blood.
Risk group
Before you find out information about how the birth with hepatitis C goes, you need to list the groups of people who are more prone to acquire this virus:
- medical workers;
- drug addicts;
- children and relatives of people with a similar disease;
- people who have had surgery before 1992;
- women and men with promiscuous, unprotected sex;
- people with liver disease or HIV.
The expectant mother should take care of her baby and avoid contact with infected people. In particular, it is not recommended to use other people's hygiene items. Distinguishing a healthy person from a carrier of hepatitis C will allow characteristic symptoms.
Symptoms of the disease
It is quite difficult to hide a progressive disease from prying eyes, and you can easily recognize the presence of such a virus yourself. In total, there are several characteristic signs of hepatitis C in women:
- Change in skin color, in most cases it darkens or turns yellow.
- The appearance of circles and swelling under the eyes.
- Dramatic weight loss.
- The appearance of general weakness and decreased performance.
- A sharp deterioration in appetite.
- The appearance of nausea and vomiting.
- The most obvious symptom is a sensation of pain or slight discomfort in the liver area.
- Another symptom is a change in the color of urine, in the presence of a virus in the body, it changes color from light yellow to dark brown, similar to the color of beer.
The first signs of hepatitis C in women appear in only 20% of cases. Most often, a viral disease can only be recognized when it has gone into the chronic stage and led to the destruction (cirrhosis) of the liver.
What to do if the disease is detected before pregnancy?
Chronic hepatitis C is not treated. The only thing that the patient can achieve is the achievement of remission, provided that medications are constantly taken. Can a man or woman with a similar diagnosis become parents?
Doctors say that with this disease you can get pregnant. In addition, chronic hepatitis C is not a contraindication for IVF. But patients with a similar diagnosis are under special control of doctors, they more often than other patients have to take blood and urine tests to determine the degree of load on the liver.
If a woman becomes pregnant from a man with a similar diagnosis, then the risk of contracting hepatitis C is quite high. In this case, she needs to undergo a diagnostic examination. If the virus is not transmitted, then at the time of bearing the baby she will have to refrain from sexual intercourse with a partner.
Do not worry about pregnancy with hepatitis C. In most cases, pregnancy in patients passes without complications, women manage to give birth to a healthy baby. But there are still risks. Firstly, due to the increased load on the body, health may deteriorate. Secondly, there is a high probability that the baby will be born prematurely or with low weight due to the high activity of the liver processes. If a woman knows about her disease, then in the early stages of expectation of a baby she is required to visit an infectious disease specialist who will select sparing therapy.
What to do if the disease is detected during pregnancy?
There are cases when hepatitis appears during pregnancy. In this case, the chances of his cure are much greater. The fact is that a pregnant woman periodically passes tests and visits doctors, therefore, it is much easier to identify a disease at an early stage of its development even before the onset of hepatitis C symptoms during pregnancy. Accordingly, it is possible to take measures in a timely manner and begin treatment measures before the liver is affected. Hepatitis during pregnancy can be transmitted from a partner during unprotected intercourse or through a medical tool during medical procedures.
How does the virus affect pregnancy?
Expectant mothers always take care of their child. That is why they are very worried about the question of whether it is possible to give birth with hepatitis C. Experienced gynecologists have found how this virus affects pregnancy:
- Transaminase levels may increase dramatically. This will lead to the fact that the patient will feel much worse.
- Against the background of hepatitis C, other chronic diseases may develop during pregnancy, such as diabetes (or gestational) diabetes. Doctors urge the expectant mother to eat right and not to allow a strong gain in weight.
As a rule, if a woman adheres to all the recommendations of a doctor, then pregnancy and childbirth with hepatitis C do not harm her health.
How will the virus affect a child?
Separately, you should consider what happens to the baby in a similar situation. It is worth noting that the risk of developing hepatitis in newborns is quite high. Moreover, a dangerous disease can be detected even during pregnancy, at birth, and even a few months after birth.
The risk of transmission of the disease from mother to baby is quite low, this probability is only 5%. To protect the baby from this disease, a woman needs:
- Visit two specialists: infectious disease specialist and genetics. Doctors of narrow specialties will give the necessary recommendations and prescribe effective therapy in order to protect the baby as much as possible.
- Most often, there is a need to have a cesarean section for hepatitis. This is due to the fact that there is a fairly high risk of infection during the passage of crumbs through the birth canal, since the child in contact with the mother’s blood secretions in the process of being born.
The second risk for the baby is premature birth and low birth weight. These factors can adversely affect the full development of the baby. To prevent their appearance, mom needs to eat right, maintain hygiene, maintain a healthy lifestyle and take medications prescribed by a doctor. In this case, the consequences of hepatitis C during pregnancy for the fetus are minimal.
Diagnostic examination
Before talking about whether childbirth with hepatitis C is possible or not, you need to make sure the diagnosis is correct. For this purpose, a diagnostic examination is carried out, consisting of a set of procedures:
- Examination by a gynecologist or therapist. The specialist will listen to the patient’s complaints and compare them with the possibility of contracting the virus.
- If a specialist has any suspicions, he will additionally prescribe a blood and urine test for the content of antibodies, virus and bilirubin in the blood.
- An ultrasound of the liver is performed only if any abnormalities were found in the analyzes.
- Biopsy of liver tissue.
The first thing that can be identified as a result of the study is the presence or absence of a virus in the human body. To obtain this information, it is enough to take a blood and urine test. Doctors often recommend re-testing after a certain period of time to confirm the diagnosis accurately.
If the presence of hepatitis C is not confirmed, then no further examination is carried out. If there is a virus in the body, a person will need to do an ultrasound and biopsy. These diagnostic methods will evaluate the degree of liver damage. Based on the data obtained, the doctor will already be able to determine whether childbirth is possible in a natural way or if you still have to do a cesarean section.
Features of the course of pregnancy
Experienced gynecologists and infectious disease specialists do not see the interaction of hepatitis C with pregnancy and childbirth. In extremely rare cases, a number of complications can occur:
- the risk of spontaneous abortion in the early stages - up to 12 weeks;
- a small likelihood of developing fetal hypoxia;
- the possibility of infection and the development of hepatitis C in a child;
- risk of increased liver damage due to increased stress.
The likelihood of complications is approximately 5%, but it still exists. It is for this reason that women with a similar diagnosis are placed under special control for the entire period of pregnancy.
There are some secondary factors. For example, a girl will worry about how the diagnosis will affect the development of the baby. Accordingly, she may be under stress, which will negatively affect her state of health.
Is the baby infected?
After the birth of a woman with hepatitis C has ended, doctors take a series of tests from the child for the presence of the virus in the body. Standard for its detection take blood and urine. According to the indications identified in the first days of life, they are not diagnosed, as these data are not reliable. Antibodies to this disease, formed during pregnancy, can affect a positive result, but they have nothing to do with the virus.
And, on the contrary, right after birth, this disease may not yet appear, but will make itself felt a little later. Accordingly, in order to make or refute the diagnosis, periodically the baby will have to take a series of tests until he reaches the age of 1.5 years. If, nevertheless, the diagnosis is confirmed, then the crumbs will be observed for a long time by the infectious disease specialist and pediatrician and receive appropriate medication.
Is hepatitis C treated during pregnancy?
In modern medicine, there is no medicine or vaccine that would prevent or save a person from the appearance of hepatitis C. But still, there are methods to suppress it. Doctors say that the sooner a disease has been identified, the greater the chance of getting rid of it. A pregnant woman with a similar diagnosis is prescribed a complex of therapy:
- Taking medications, namely, Ribavirin and Interferon, is prescribed only as a last resort, when other methods of treatment are impossible. This is due to the fact that they negatively affect the fetus.
- Taking a separate group of drugs based on ursodeoxycholic acid. They contribute to the suppression of the virus and are absolutely harmless to the baby. Therapeutic therapy is prescribed by courses, after the completion of which a break is required.
In addition to treatment, infected patients are given dietary and lifestyle recommendations that must also be followed.
Features of the delivery
For several decades, experienced experts have been actively debating about whether it is possible to give birth with hepatitis C. As practice shows, there is still a high probability of bearing a healthy baby. But still there are some features of the delivery.
In late pregnancy, approximately 33–36 weeks, a woman will need to take a urine test, a blood test and a biopsy to get a liver test. If the results of the diagnostic examination are unsatisfactory, then the specialist will make an unambiguous decision - to have a cesarean section, since natural birth will cause a significant risk to human health.
The task of medical personnel during labor is to completely exclude the baby's contact with the mother's blood secretions, through which infection can occur. If during the labor activity there was heavy bleeding, then doctors take measures to make an emergency cesarean section.
Can I breastfeed?
The birth was successful, the baby was born healthy and on time. But mother’s concern does not end there. The second question that will worry her is whether it is possible to breastfeed her baby with hepatitis C. Doctors say that infection through milk is impossible. They managed to come to this conclusion as a result of numerous studies. But still, some measures will have to be observed so as not to harm the baby:
- every day 2-3 times it is required to rinse the chest with water;
- Before each feeding, the integrity of the nipples should be monitored, they should not have any wounds and microcracks.
If you observe these two important conditions, you can completely reduce the risk of transmission of the virus from mother to child.
Forecast
Full-fledged bearing of a baby is possible, but only if the effect of the virus on the body is in the stage of compensation, and the liver is minimally affected. No doctor can guarantee that pregnancy and childbirth will go well, since the risks of spontaneous miscarriage, the threat of termination of pregnancy, premature and complicated births exist even when the mother is completely healthy. There is an equal share of the likelihood of infection of the child both during cesarean section and during natural birth.
Preventative measures
In conclusion, it is worth listing the preventive measures that will help to avoid infection with the hepatitis C virus:
- Do not use common toothbrushes, needles, cotton wool, tows, utensils and any objects that are injected. The virus can exist on objects up to 4 days.
- All procedures: manicure, piercing, tattoos - should be performed only in elite salons in accordance with sanitary standards.
- In the absence of confidence in the partner's health, it is mandatory to use condoms when having sexual intercourse.
- Close contact with infected people should be avoided.
In the modern world, the number of infected patients is constantly growing. But doctors have already learned how to translate this virus into a state of remission. If you still failed to avoid hepatitis C infection, then do not despair. With this virus, you can fully live and give birth to healthy children.