ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2013
Effect of elective cesarean section on the risk of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cesarean section to prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus in China: A meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2017Pooled it
- ACG Clinical Guideline: Liver Disease and Pregnancy.The American journal of gastroenterology · 2016Guideline
- Caesarean section to prevent transmission of hepatitis B: a meta-analysis.Canadian journal of gastroenterology & hepatology · 2014Pooled it
- Factors associated with hepatitis B mother-to-child transmission in a national prevention program.Clinical and molecular hepatology · 2025Article
- Elective cesarean section and bottle-feeding do not reduce infection of hepatitis B in infants of high viremic mothers: a retrospective study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Outcomes of hepatitis B immunoglobulin and hepatitis B vaccination in high-risk newborns born to HBeAg-positive mothers.Biomedical journal · 2022Article
- Hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant mothers and children after the introduction of the universal vaccination program in Central Vietnam.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Perinatal transmission in infants of mothers with chronic hepatitis B in California.World journal of gastroenterology · 2017Article
- Mechanisms and Prevention of Vertical Transmission in Chronic Viral Hepatitis.Journal of clinical and translational hepatology · 2017Review
- [Management algorithm for interrupting mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2017Article
- Hepatitis B Management in the Pregnant Patient: An Update.Journal of clinical and translational hepatology · 2016Review
- Hepatitis B in Pregnancy.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2016Article
- AASLD guidelines for treatment of chronic hepatitis B.Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) · 2016Article
- Management of hepatitis B during pregnancy.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2014Review
- Vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus: challenges and solutions.International journal of women's health · 2014Review
- Immunization against Viral Hepatitis B: Lessons Learnt from Kingdom of Cambodia.Euroasian journal of hepato-gastroenterologyReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMany clinicians and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected pregnant women prefer elective caesarean section (ECS) to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HBV, since some studies found higher transmission of HBV in infants born by vaginal delivery (VD) than by cesarean section. However, other studies showed that ECS does not reduce the risk of being infected with HBV in infants. In this study, we aimed to clarify whether ECS may reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HBV.
methodsTotally 546 children (1-7-year-old) born to 544 HBsAg-positive mothers from 15 cities and rural areas across Jiangsu Province, China, were enrolled. Of these children, 137 (2 pairs of twins) were born to HBeAg-positive mothers; 285 were delivered by ECS and 261 others by VD (one pair of twin in each group). HBV serologic markers were tested by enzyme or microparticle immunoassay.
resultsThe maternal and gestational ages, maternal HBeAg-positive rates, and children's ages, gender ratios, hepatitis B vaccine coverage and administrations of HBIG were comparable between ECS and VD groups (all p >0.05). The overall prevalence of HBsAg in the 546 children was 2.4%, with 2.5% (7/285) and 2.3% (6/261) in those born by ECS and VD respectively (p = 0.904). Further comparison of chronic HBV infection in the 137 children of HBeAg-positive mothers showed that the HBsAg-positive rates in ECS and VD groups were 10.3% (7/68) and 8.7% (6/69) respectively (p = 0.750), while the mothers had similar HBV DNA levels (2.38 × 106 vs. 2.35 × 106 IU/ml, p = 0.586). Additionally, the overall rate of anti-HBs ≥10 mIU/ml in the children was 71.6%, with 72.3% and 70.9% in those born by ECS and VD respectively (p = 0.717).
conclusionsWith the recommended immunoprophylaxis against hepatitis B, ECS does not reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HBV. Therefore, ECS should not be used in HBsAg-positive pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HBV.
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