Hepatitis in Pregnancy

MOST pregnant patients with viral hepatitis can be cared for successfully and have full-term infants unless they have underlying nutritional problems. The type of viral hepatitis, the duration of the gestation at the time of infection, and individual immunologic factors may also affect the outcome. The responsibilities of physicians in these cases include obtaining an etiologic diagnosis of the hepatitis in order to provide optimal care of the mother and appropriate prophylactic treatment for the newborn. This discussion will focus primarily on hepatitis B virus infections since such infections are most clearly understood with respect to their transmission, their effects . . .