What is an infant's risk for Hepatitis B?

[Benjamin_LK]

So I was wondering, what is the risk of Hepatitis B for infants? I know it is a bad disease that ruins you, but the transmission method - blood transfusion and sex,doesn't sound like something babies would be at use for, unless the doctors don't throw away their needles. Why not wait a while before giving them the shot?

[JohnnyL]

The risk is 0. So why, then, does the AMA push it?? :-\

[Benjamin_LK]

The risk is 0. So why, then, does the AMA push it?? :-\

Not zero, because if the mother has it, she can pass it on to her child via birth or the umbilical cord, however, they viciously test pregnant women for Hepatitis variants, HIV, and other STDs, so if there was a woman who had Hepatitis B, it's unlikely she would go undetected. I am guessing they do it for reasons like eradicating STDs so that people can do whatever they want, but I am bringing it up so that maybe Davedan or some other individual might offer some sourced information on the matter.

[JohnnyL]

The risk is 0. So why, then, does the AMA push it?? :-\

Not zero, because if the mother has it, she can pass it on to her child via birth or the umbilical cord, however, they viciously test pregnant women for Hepatitis variants, HIV, and other STDs, so if there was a woman who had Hepatitis B, it's unlikely she would go undetected. I am guessing they do it for reasons like eradicating STDs so that people can do whatever they want, but I am bringing it up so that maybe Davedan or some other individual might offer some sourced information on the matter.

Giving a vaccine to someone that already has the disease?

[Benjamin_LK]

The risk is 0. So why, then, does the AMA push it?? :-\

Not zero, because if the mother has it, she can pass it on to her child via birth or the umbilical cord, however, they viciously test pregnant women for Hepatitis variants, HIV, and other STDs, so if there was a woman who had Hepatitis B, it's unlikely she would go undetected. I am guessing they do it for reasons like eradicating STDs so that people can do whatever they want, but I am bringing it up so that maybe Davedan or some other individual might offer some sourced information on the matter.

Giving a vaccine to someone that already has the disease?

Infants have potential exposure to blood from their mother during birth, which is how they can contract HIV and Hepatitis during birth. However, my point stands that pregnant women get tested multiple times for STDS/blood borne disease multiple times during pregnancy, so there is minimal chance of any false negative. They overwhelmingly know the mother has some kind of disease before the baby is born. They do give vaccines such as rabies, so someone who already has the disease, vaccines aren't about immunity so much as they are about stimulating the immune system to react quickly and help you get better, rabies vaccine is the injections they give you after a potentially rabid animal bites you to make sure you get better from rabies, and not dead.

[A Random Phrase]

Plus, there are those couples who don't share needles with anyone because they don't use them and who don't have multiple sexual partners. It should be a no-brainer that the baby does not need that shot (even supposing it really works).