If you have hepatitis B, are you allowed to breastfeed?
The literature on this topic is not entirely uniform. In a mother with hepatitis B, there is a significantly increased risk of infection for the child during the birth process, depending on the viral load. Therefore, newborns of mothers who have HBs antigen in their blood are usually vaccinated against hepatitis B directly after birth with 2 vaccines.
Two more vaccinations follow in the next months of life to complete the basic immunization. The most widespread opinion is that this first vaccination (active and passive immunization) already acts as protection for the newborn against infection with hepatitis B via breast milk and that breast milk generally contains significantly fewer pathogens than blood.However, there are also voices that advise against breastfeeding in mothers with hepatitis B and positive HBs antigen in their blood. In general, this topic should be discussed with the treating gynecologist on a case-by-case basis for safety reasons.
