Jump to content
RemedySpot.com

Breastfeeding OK for moms with hepatitis B: study

Rate this topic


Guest guest

Recommended Posts

Guest guest

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/05/us-breastfeeding-hepatitis-idUSTRE7447\

K020110505

Breastfeeding OK for moms with hepatitis B: study

By Genevra Pittman

NEW YORK | Thu May 5, 2011 5:26pm EDT

(Reuters Health) - New mothers with hepatitis B can safely breastfeed their

babies, as long as they take a few important precautions, according to a new

study.

The hepatitis B virus causes inflammation and swelling of the liver and can lead

to chronic damage on the organ. The infection is spread through blood, unclean

needles, and sex. It may also pass from a mother to her baby during pregnancy

and labor.

It has been unclear whether breastfeeding may also transmit the virus,

researchers say in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Their report, a review of past studies, allays those fears.

Even in mothers with the virus, " breastfeeding should be recommended as a

valuable source of nutrition to infants, " study author Dr. Zhongjie Shi of

Temple University in Philadelphia told Reuters Health in an email.

The researchers combined data from 10 previous studies, all conducted in China,

which compared rates of hepatitis B in the babies of more than 1,000 mothers

with the virus. About half of those mothers breastfed their babies.

To prevent transmission of hepatitis B from the mom, babies are given a vaccine

and another injected medication soon after birth, and are vaccinated two or

three more times during the first few months of life.

By their first birthday, 31 babies out of the 637 with breastfeeding mothers

tested positive for hepatitis B. That compared to 33 babies out of 706 who had

mothers who didn't breastfeed.

Most of those infants, the researchers explained, had been infected with the

virus during pregnancy or childbirth.

Shi said that blood is the easiest way for hepatitis B to travel from mother to

baby, followed by amniotic fluid and vaginal secretions. He added that hepatitis

B is up to 100 times more infectious HIV.

Moms should avoid breastfeeding if they have cracked or bleeding nipples or

lesions on their breasts, the authors note, as that could be a way to transmit

the virus more easily.

According to the World Health Organization, about 350 million people worldwide

are living with chronic hepatitis B infection, while as many as 2 billion have

been infected. About one in four people infected with the virus as a child

ultimately die of liver cancer or liver scarring caused by the disease.

Shi concluded that while more studies on this topic are needed, the new results

" are most valuable in developing countries and areas with high (hepatitis B)

prevalence or heavy population, such as India, China, (and) south east Asia. "

SOURCE: bit.ly/jMXjpI Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, online May

2, 2011.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...