“We’re actually contemplating treating pregnant women [who have hep C] in the last two months [of pregnancy], so we just give them eight weeks of treatment [during] months eight and nine [of pregnancy],” he adds, which can help cure hepatitis C before delivery to help avoid transmission to the baby. According to Dieterich, more and more women under 30 are getting infected with the hep C virus, due to an uptick in transmission from IV drug use in this age group. “There are a lot more pregnant women now with hepatitis C,” says Dietrich, than there have been in the past. If you want to be screened for hepatitis C, you have to ask for it. “When you go for your first prenatal visit, there’s a panel of labs that is part of the regular prenatal blood work,” says Dr. Jennifer Ashton, chief medical correspondent for ABC News. “HIV is part of it — hepatitis C is not.” Testing is left to the discretion of your care provider unless you specifically ask for a hep C screening. If you had children before 1992 and you had Rh incompatibility with your baby, and received an Rh immunoglobulin product, like RhoGAM, you may also want to get screened for hep C. That’s because, prior to 1992, the blood supply was not tested for hep C, and treatment for Rh incompatibility is a blood product given to help prevent your body from fighting off the fetus as if it’s a foreign invader. So there is a chance that RhoGAM administered prior to 1992 carries a risk of hep C — for both you and your baby. That said, today, if you have Rh incompatibility with your baby, it shouldn’t be an issue, as blood products are now screened for the virus. One main risk: Getting medical care in a developing country. That includes things like getting stitches after an accident or getting vaccinations. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if you do need medical care while you’re traveling, you should try to make sure the equipment used by the care team is sterile. You can also lower your risk of hep C transmission while you’re traveling simply by avoiding high-risk behaviors, like having unprotected sex, using injectable or IV drugs, or getting unregulated tattoos or body piercings. Even if you’ve had heterosexual contact with someone who has hep C, your risk of transmission is relatively low as well. “There was a big Italian study of 8,000 couples over about 10 years. Only three of the wives got hep C, but all three had different genotypes of the virus than their husbands — so they didn’t get it from their husbands,” says Dieterich. “They got it some other way.” Meanwhile, if you find out a loved one has hepatitis C, “it’s probably a good idea to get everybody tested while they’re still thinking about it and worrying about it,” adds Dieterich.
