[Medical Q&A] Can babies born to mothers with hepatitis B be breastfed? What are the daily precautions?

Author: Hu Fang, deputy chief physician of Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center

Reviewer: Wang Qian, researcher at the Maternal and Child Health Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Babies born to mothers with hepatitis B can be breastfed after receiving hepatitis B immunoglobulin and the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine. During breastfeeding, mothers with hepatitis B should take more rest and have their liver function checked regularly. If the liver function is abnormal, they should go to the hospital for treatment in time.

When feeding your baby complementary foods, do not chew the food before feeding it to the child. This is because the oral microorganisms of adults are different from those of children, and chewing and feeding the food to the child can easily cause the child to be infected with diseases. In daily life, babies should be prevented from coming into contact with the blood of people infected with the hepatitis B virus, and separate tableware should be prepared for the baby.

One to two months after the last dose of hepatitis B vaccine or when the baby is 7 to 12 months old, the baby should go to the hospital for hepatitis B infection and immune status testing. The doctor will take appropriate intervention measures based on the baby's test results to build a safety protection door for the baby.