Perinatal Transmission

Prgnant woman holding a glass and looking out a window.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a pregnant woman poses a serious risk to her infant at birth. Without postexposure immunoprophylaxis, approximately 40% of infants born to HBV-infected mothers in the United States will develop chronic HBV infection, approximately one-fourth of whom will eventually die from chronic liver disease.

Perinatal HBV transmission can be prevented by identifying HBV-infected (i.e., hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg]-positive) pregnant women and providing hepatitis B immune globulin and hepatitis B vaccine to their infants within 12 hours of birth.

Preventing perinatal HBV transmission is an integral part of the national strategy to eliminate hepatitis B in the United States. National guidelines call for the following:

Universal screening of pregnant women for HBsAg during each pregnancy
Case management of HBsAg-positive mothers and their infants
Provision of immunoprophylaxis for infants born to infected mothers, including hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin
Routine vaccination of all infants with the hepatitis B vaccine series, with the first dose administered at birth

Guidelines and Recommendations

Hepatitis B Vaccination Recommendations for Infants, Children, and Adolescents

MMWR 2005;54(RR-16)

Main Document

Appendix A: Case Finding and Management of HBsAg-Positive Persons

Appendix B: Immunization Management Issues

Appendix C: Postexposure Prophylaxis

PDF version [PDF - 39 pages]: (with appendices)