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World J Obstet Gynecol. Feb 10, 2015; 4(1): 1-8
Published online Feb 10, 2015. doi: 10.5317/wjog.v4.i1.1
Hepatitis B and pregnancy: An update review article
Fatemeh Abdi, Marefat Ghaffari Novin, Maryam Afrakhteh, Farzin Khorvash
Fatemeh Abdi, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1985717443, Iran
Marefat Ghaffari Novin, Infertility and Reproductive Health Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1985717443, Iran
Maryam Afrakhteh, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1985717443, Iran
Farzin Khorvash, Nosocomial Infection Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 8415683111, Iran
Author contributions: All the authors equally contributed to this work.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Fatemeh Abdi, PhD, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Chamran Highway, Velenjak Str., Tehran 1985717443, Iran. abdi@sbmu.ac.ir
Telephone: +98-218-8655366 Fax: +98-218-820252
Received: July 22, 2014
Peer-review started: July 23, 2014
First decision: August 14, 20144
Revised: September 14, 2014
Accepted: October 31, 2014
Article in press: November 3, 2014
Published online: February 10, 2015
Processing time: 391 Days and 18.9 Hours
Abstract

Chronic hepatitis B, as a global health problem, is a disease that begins in the prenatal period and its complications gradually become clear later in life. About 5% of women worldwide are carriers of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). The most common method of transmission of HBV around the world is from mother to infant. This article aims to review the unique challenges of hepatitis B in pregnancy. Data for this review were collected from our previous studies and experiences plus various data banks, such as PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of science, Scopus, Google Scholar and Iranian databases. A comprehensive search was performed using the combinations of the keywords to review relevant literature and higher education journals. All published data up to February 2014 have been included in this review. This article addresses several interesting aspects. First, hepatitis B in pregnancy can vary regarding prevalence, virus behavior, prenatal transmission and outcome of the pregnancy. Second, the women of reproductive age with chronic HBV remain a major source for continued spread of the virus. Finally, pregnant women need screening in prenatal care to enable early intervention when necessary.

Keywords: Hepatitis B; Pregnancy; Screening; Prenatal transmission; Treatment

Core tip: Chronic hepatitis B is a global health problem. About 5% of women worldwide are carriers of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). The most common method of transmission of HBV around the world is from mother to infant. We are gathering an increasing amount of interesting aspects to accurately describe the unique challenges of hepatitis B in pregnancy. This article addresses hepatitis B in pregnancy which can vary regarding prevalence, virus behavior, prenatal transmission, screening and outcome of the pregnancy.