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7 Weeks Pregnant, On Methadone And Found To Have Hep C. What Precauutions To Take?
Question: My granddaughter is 7 weeks pregnant, is on methadone and has just found out she has Hepatitis C. Should she go "cold turkey" to get off the methadone? Will the baby be normal and healthy. What should she do?
Hi,
Thanks for the query.
Methadone belongs to category C drug in pregnancy, means animal studies shown some abnormalities is fetuses but sufficient human studies are lacking.
She may continue the methadone now with your doctor's advice as benefits over-weigh risks here.
Among hepatitis C infected women, 1 in 20 women can pass the virus to the fetus.
Among them 1 in 4 children can clear the virus by their own and others may become carriers.
At present there is no way to prevent the hepatitis C spread to the baby.
And the baby has to be tested for presence of infection after birth.
So your granddaughter can continue the pregnancy with regular antenatal checkups and ultrasound examinations under guidance of her obstetrician.
Hope I have answered your query. I will be available to answer your follow up queries. If you are satisfied with all my answer, please rate the answer after closing the discussion.
Take care.
Thanks for the query.
Methadone belongs to category C drug in pregnancy, means animal studies shown some abnormalities is fetuses but sufficient human studies are lacking.
She may continue the methadone now with your doctor's advice as benefits over-weigh risks here.
Among hepatitis C infected women, 1 in 20 women can pass the virus to the fetus.
Among them 1 in 4 children can clear the virus by their own and others may become carriers.
At present there is no way to prevent the hepatitis C spread to the baby.
And the baby has to be tested for presence of infection after birth.
So your granddaughter can continue the pregnancy with regular antenatal checkups and ultrasound examinations under guidance of her obstetrician.
Hope I have answered your query. I will be available to answer your follow up queries. If you are satisfied with all my answer, please rate the answer after closing the discussion.
Take care.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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