Hepatitis B virus is a potentially serious infection that can affect the liver. The long term effects of being a Hepatitis B carrier are usually minimal but include passing it on to future sexual partners or children (in women) and possibly, but very rarely, developing liver damage and cirrhosis. Many people have no symptoms, however when a mother is a carrier of the Hepatitis B there is a small risk that she may pass it on to her baby (through blood or body fluids). The best way to protect a baby of an infected mother is to administer the appropriate vaccine at birth and this immunizes the baby and prevents infection. The infection can be detected in the mother’s blood.
Blood is tested routinely for hepatitis B at the beginning of pregnancy.