Neonatal Hepatitis C | Symptoms & Causes
In-Depth
At Children’s Hospital Boston, we understand that you may have a lot of questions when your child is diagnosed with neonatal hepatitis C, such as:
• What exactly is it?
• How did he get it?
• What are potential complications in my child’s case?
• What are our treatment options?
• How will it affect my child long term?
We’ve tried to provide some answers to those questions here, and when you meet with our experts, we can explain your child’s condition and treatment options fully.
Background
A baby may contract a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the uterus if the mother has hepatitis C and passes it through her bloodstream to the baby.
- The developing fetus is especially vulnerable to illness because its immune system is not yet strong enough to permanently fight off infection.
Since a baby in utero cannot completely get rid of an infection, HCV remains in the body, and can lead to a hepatitis C infection, which may damage your baby’s liver and cause lifelong health problems.
Causes
A pregnant woman who has hepatitis C can pass it on to her unborn child.
How is hepatitis C spread?
HCV can be transmitted through contaminated blood, and is often passed on through shared needles.
- HCV can also be spread from a pregnant mother to her fetus through the bloodstream.
What is the likelihood that my baby will get hepatitis C?
If you have hepatitis C, there is a slightly higher than 5 percent chance that your baby will also be infected.
Symptoms
Most babies born with hepatitis C never develop symptoms, but the virus can still be causing internal damage to the liver.
If your child has symptoms, they may include the following:
- jaundice
- tenderness
- fever
- loss of appetite
- nausea and vomiting
Long-term outlook
If your baby develops chronic hepatitis C, she may eventually require a course of antiviral medications or even a liver transplant. Children born with hepatitis C are also at greater risk for liver cancer and cirrhosis (scarring) later in life.
Questions to ask your doctor
If you’re worried about hepatitis C or are already infected, you may have many questions about how it can affect your baby.
You may find it helpful to jot down questions as they arise—that way, when you talk to your doctor, you can be sure that all of your concerns are addressed.
Here are some questions to get you started:
- I’m planning to have a baby. Should I get tested for hepatitis C?
- How can I reduce my exposure to the hepatitis C virus?
- Is there any way to prevent passing hepatitis C on to my baby?
- What steps can we take if my baby does get infected?
- What’s the long-term outlook for a baby born with hepatitis C?
Prevention
There is no cure for hepatitis C, so it’s best to avoid infection.
Because hepatitis C is most often spread through contact with contaminated blood in needles shared among IV drug users, it’s important to never share needles. Of course, it’s best to stop using drugs altogether; your doctor can help you find treatment if you are having problems with substance abuse.
FAQ
Q: What is hepatitis C?
A: Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver that is caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Q: Why is neonatal hepatitis C a problem?
A: HCV can be spread from a pregnant mother to her fetus through the bloodstream.
- If your baby is infected, she may have lifelong liver problems, such as scarring of the liver and liver cancer.
Q: What are the chances my baby will be born with neonatal hepatitis C?
A: Slightly greater than 5 percent of babies born to infected mothers contract the virus.
Q: How can neonatal hepatitis C be prevented?
A: There is no cure for hepatitis C, so it’s best to avoid infection.
- Because hepatitis C is most often spread through contact with contaminated blood in needles shared among IV drug users, it’s important to never share needles. Of course, it’s best to stop using drugs altogether; your doctor can help you find treatment if you are having problems with substance abuse.
Q: How is neonatal hepatitis C diagnosed?
A: A simple blood test can check for the presence of the virus in your or your child’s bloodstream.
Q: What symptoms might my baby have?
A: Most babies born with hepatitis C never develop symptoms, but the virus can still be causing internal damage to the liver.
If your child has symptoms, they may include the following:
- jaundice
- tenderness
- fever
- loss of appetite
- nausea and vomiting
Q: What are our treatment options?
A: If you have hepatitis C, your doctor will check your baby 4-6 months after birth to test for the presence of the virus.
- If the test is positive, Children’s physicians will continue to monitor your baby for any worsening of her condition and will treat any symptoms she may develop.
Q: What is my child’s long-term outlook?
A:If your baby develops chronic hepatitis C, she may eventually require a course of antiviral medications or even a liver transplant. Children born with hepatitis C are also at greater risk for liver cancer and cirrhosis (scarring) later in life.
Q: What makes Children’s different?
A: Our physicians are expert, compassionate and committed to focusing on the whole child, not just his condition—that’s one reason we’re frequently ranked as a top pediatric hospital in the United States.
Physicians and researchers in our Division of Infectious Diseases are constantly learning more about how diseases develop and spread as well as how the body uses its defenses to fight back.
And at Children’s, we consider you and your child integral parts of the care team and not simply recipients of care. You and your care team will work together to customize a plan of care for your child.
Neonatal Hepatitis C | Diagnosis & Treatments
How we diagnose neonatal hepatitis C
The first step in treating your child is forming an accurate and complete diagnosis.
For the mother:
If you think you may have been exposed to the hepatitis C virus, your doctor can perform a blood test to check for the presence of the virus in your bloodstream.
For the baby:
If you have hepatitis C, it’s possible that your baby will be born with it. Your doctor will screen your baby for hepatitis C 4-6 months after birth.
After we complete all necessary tests, Children’s Hospital Boston’s experts meet to review and discuss what they have learned. Then we will meet with you and your family to discuss the results and outline the best treatment options.
How we treat neonatal hepatitis C
If your child has been diagnosed with congenital hepatitis C, you may be confused, frightened and overwhelmed. But you can rest assured that, at Boston Children's Hospital, your child is in good hands.
Our physicians are expert, compassionate, and committed to focusing on the whole child, not just his condition—that's one reason we're frequently ranked as a top pediatric hospital in the United States.
It's important to know the following about hepatitis C:
- If you have hepatitis C, your doctor will check your baby 4-6 months after birth to test for the presence of the virus.
- If the test is positive, Children's physicians will continue to monitor your baby for any worsening of her condition and will treat any symptoms she may develop.
At Children's, we consider you and your child integral parts of the care team and not simply recipients of care. You and your care team will work together to customize a plan of care for your child.
Prevention: The best treatment
There is no cure for hepatitis C, so it's best to avoid infection.
Because hepatitis C is most often spread through contact with contaminated blood in needles shared among IV drug users, it's important to never share needles. Of course, it's best to stop using drugs altogether; your doctor can help you find treatment if you are having problems with substance abuse.
Coping and support
It's essential to remember that while hearing that your child is infected with hepatitis C can feel very isolating, many children and their families have been down this path before. We've helped them, and we can help you, too. There are lots of resources available for your family — within Children's, in the outside community, and online. These include:
Patient education: From the very first visit, our nurses will be on hand to walk you through your child's treatment and help answer any questions you may have. And they'll also reach out to you by phone, continuing the care and support you received while at Children's.
Parent to parent: Want to talk with someone whose baby has been treated for hepatitis C? We can put you in touch with other families who have been through similar experiences and can share their experience.
Faith-based support: If you are in need of spiritual support, we'll help connect you with the Department of Spiritual Care (chaplaincy). Our program includes nearly a dozen clergy representing Episcopal, Jewish, Lutheran, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Unitarian and United Church of Christ traditions who will listen to you, pray with you and help you observe your own faith practices during the time you and your child are in the hospital.
Social work and mental health professionals: Our social workers and mental health clinicians have helped many other families in your situation. We can offer counseling and assistance with issues such as coping with your child's diagnosis, stresses relating to coping with illness and dealing with financial difficulties.
On our For Patients and Families site, you can read all you need to know about:
Neonatal Hepatitis C | Research & Clinical Trials
Research in Children’s Hospital Boston’s Division of Infectious Diseases includes both basic investigation and clinical research.
Our research has the broad objective of learning more about how diseases develop and spread as well as how the body uses its defenses to fight back.
Investigators target viruses, bacteria and fungi that cause disease in community-wide infections in the United States, in infections of children with compromised immune systems and in global public health.
Read more about these ongoing research studies.
Treating chronic hepatitis C
Maureen M. Jonas, MD, medical director of the Children’s Liver Transplant Program, has led research focused on liver disease in children with emphasis on viral hepatitis.
- She was the principal investigator in several international trials where drugs that are effective in treating adults with chronic hepatitis were tested in children.
- Dr. Jonas's work has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Hepatology, Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal and other major medical journals.
Community-based care for newborns
Our Community Newborn Medicine Program cares for ill and convalescent newborns in a family-centered community setting. Our community-based Newborn Medicine faculty provide advanced newborn therapies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) and in Special Care Nurseries (SCN) in several suburban medical centers that are affiliated with Children's.
The affiliated nursery programs include:
NICU
SCN
