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943354 tn?1257282895

Hep C and Having Babies

My question is: I have Hep C and my doctors think I was born with it, I have tried treatment but it did not work for me, I would like to have babies sometime soon and was wondering will I pass the virus to my baby because my mother passed it to me?
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442340 tn?1326817417
Hello!  I had HCV for 26 years before finding out.  Right after my 26th birthday when my husband and I applied for life insurance, I was denied because they found anti-bodies to HCV.  Long story short, my mom had HCV (died of liver failure three years ago...she abused her body though) and doctors think that I have been living with it since birth. I had a very rough delivery, and in fact, almost died.  I'm not sure if that increases the risk of passing it along.  

I had zero symptoms of HCV and I am so thankful we applied for life insurance, or I might have not known until more damage was done.

Just from one person's perspective, I wasn't mad at my mom and didn't really even blame her.  I know that some things in life are out of our control, and the choice to have me over not having kids because of HCV, in my opinion was the best one!  :)


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Avatar universal
My ob-gyn recommended c-section to minimize the risk. I had twins and both of them are fine.
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Avatar universal
Hi, I dont want to frighten you, but you need to be aware that the risk is real. My son(16) was tested last year and does i fact have hep c. I passed it to him at birth most likely.
One thing that probably contributed to him catching it is he had an internal fetal monitor. I had a rough labor and delivery with him. So far I have only had 2 of my other 4 children tested and my other son is negative. My daughter and oldest son have not been tested yet.
Personally, I would go for it! Even my son who tested positive is doing very well. He has had it for almost 17 years, and his liver panel has always been totally normal and his viral load like 60,000.
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Avatar universal
Not necessarily. Only 4-5% of babies born from hep C positive moms actually get the virus. All will have antibodies for 12-18 months though. The ones who keep those antibodies past 18 months, likely have the virus. A PCR will tell you that.
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