Why should an infant receive hepatitis B vaccine at birth before hospital discharge, even if the mother is negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)?
Infants born to HBV-infected mothers require hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) within 12 hours of birth to protect them from infection. However, because errors or delays in documenting, testing, and reporting maternal HBsAg status can and do occur, administering the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine soon after birth to all infants acts as a safety net, reducing the risk for perinatal infection when maternal HBsAg status is either unknown or incorrectly documented at delivery. Also, initiating the hepatitis B vaccine series at birth has been shown to increase a child’s likelihood of completing the vaccine series on schedule.
Related Questions
- Why should an infant receive hepatitis B vaccine at birth before hospital discharge, even if the mother is negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)?
- I was given a mother’s copy of my baby’s birth certificate at the hospital. Can it be used for legal purposes?
- Might the baby’s or birth mother’s prenatal or hospital expenses be covered by insurance?
