United States Department of Veterans Affairs
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
National Hepatitis C Program
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Sex & Sexuality

What is the risk of a pregnant woman passing hepatitis C to her baby?

It is possible to get pregnant if you or your partner has hepatitis C. If you are a man with hepatitis C, and your female partner does not have hepatitis C (throughout the entire pregnancy), then there is no chance that the baby will contract the virus from the mother. If you are a pregnant woman who already has hepatitis C (or gets hepatitis C at some point during the pregnancy), the chance of passing the virus to your baby is low, less than 5 percent. The risk becomes greater if the mother has both hepatitis C and HIV. With proper prenatal care, babies born to hepatitis C-positive mothers or fathers are usually quite healthy.