need ur help...

hi there i and my girlfren both are infected with hep c and we haven't went for any medication..i'm 30 and my girlfren is 25 and we are planning to have a baby. can anyone help us to know wether we can give birth to baby while having hepc? we will be highly looking forward for the appropriate answer and highly appreciate it.
Thank you

[spectda]

I've read there is a 4-5% chance of passing this from mother to child. Aren't you interested in treating and trying to get rid of it? Do you know both your genotypes and stage of disease progression if any?

[riders14]

thanks buddy...i know nothing of it..and i'm scared of doing treatment as well coz i heard that the treatment is terrible it has no gaurantee of clearing the virus from the body and i heard that it has serious side effects as well...buddy do u think i can plan for a baby coz my girl wants a baby and i don't know what to do i'm in dilema need help and supports...

[Trish77]

You'll make your own decision but I'm personally going to be blunt and say I wouldn't have a baby knowing I could pass on Hep C to the child.  If you're scared to do treatment, why take a chance of having a child and putting them in the same position.

If your girlfriend ended up with an unplanned pregnancy, then both of you should consider getting treated so you're around long enough to take care of that child and so that the child doesn't have sick parents with health problems later on when he / she really needs you.

Either way it comes back to looking at treatment.  There are lots of people on this forum who have treated, myself included.  It's not easy but alot of us have gotten through it.   I'd start investigating into treatment first.

Trish

[spectda]

I would love to hear what others have to say about it since you're asking a moral question. I personally would do anything to protect my son, I would place myself in danger to protect him and my family if I had to like I assume most parents would.

If I had a choice of treating a disease before possibly giving it to my child, or letting that child possibly have to get treated instead of me, It wouldn't require much thinking for me to make the choice of getting treated myself first rather then chance the child.

Of course some women have passed on the disease to their children, but a lot of them didn't know they had it when they became pregnant. Obviously you are not the one who has the chance of passing it on to your child since you will have no blood to blood contact it would be your girlfriend who is risking passing it on.

[Trish77]

Well there's no child without his participation so he's risking the child when he agrees to it knowing what the risks are,  whether the biological pathway is the mother or himself.  

[FlGuy]

Going back to square one for a momen...How do you know that you and GF both have HCV?  There are very specific test to arrive at the correct diagnosis.  Have you had those tests?

The risks of HCV transmission to a baby are through the mother.  I have never heard of a situation where HCV is passed in birth from an infected father and an un-infected mother.

[Trinity4]

I have two children and neither are infected with hepc.  I've probably had this disease 39+ years.

If your girlfriend has hepc the risk of passing it to the unborn fetus is around 4%.  

Now, if you both of you have minimal liver damage there is no need to treat right now.  It's called the "watch and wait approach" which basically means you have time to wait for treatment.  There are newer drugs coming out soon which which will increase the percentage of cure and hopefully shorten treatment time.  That should be happening sometime in 2011.  

I would think waiting for better drugs (genotype 3 excluded) would give you something to dream about not only in eradicating the virus but for starting a family under better circumstances.  Yes, there are people who have debilitating hereditary diseases that  that choose to have children anyway and sometimes it's passed on and sometimes it isn't.  It really is a personal decision and you have to live the outcome.  I think in your case with a little diligence a negative outcome can be avoided.

Good luck in whatever you decide.  No one here is an almighty power and we can't make those decisions.  We can only present the facts with our spin on it.

Trinity

[copyman]

Do the right moral thing and treat the disease brfore having a child. There are new drugs coming out in about a year that will give you a 75% chance of cure with a shorter treatment duration. How will you and partner feel if your new born has HCV and you know you could have prevented it !
Keep in mind that what you read on the internet about how bad treatment is are from people seeking help. There are many more that don't have any serious problems and have no need to post on internet forums.

[R Glass]

What test was performed to confirm that both of you have HCV?
Most G.P.s know very little about HCV. I have 2 friends that came to me in a panic because their Doctors told them they had HCV. All they had were the Anti-Bodies. Their Drs. didn’t know the difference.

[Missy114]

Although the chances of the mother passing it on to her baby is low, why would anyone want to take that chance? I understand the desire to want a child, but you both need to be responsible here and ensure that this child won't get the virus. Imagine the guilt you both would feel if your baby was infected? I don't know how they treat children, but I have heard of children who were treated, and I'd assume that it is pretty awful for them.

Another important thing to think about is the fact that you and your girlfriend will probably have to get treatment at one point or another. It would be a lot better and easier if you treated before having children, so you wouldn't have to worry about the side effects of treatment interfering with your ability to be a great parent.  I've had the virus for about 5-6 years now, but was just diagnosed a few months ago. I have an 18 month old and a 4 year old (who both tested negative) and I am struggling with deciding when to treat. I'd love to get it over with, but I know it would be extremely difficult for me to take care of my kids while on treatment. I am most likely going to wait, but even so, my kids will be doing more activities, sports, etc as they get older, and I may have a hard time keeping up with them. The positive is that they'll be in school full-time, but still. If I had known I had the virus before I had my kids, I would have treated before.

[Trish77]

It's a good point to be sure you both actually have HCV as R Glass pointed out, not all docs are knowledgeable about this and antibodies alone don't constitute having HCV, only that you had it at one time.  Some people clear it on their own and it leaves antibodies only permanently.  The percentage of those who clear is low, mind you .. but still worth pursuing to see if either of you are in that 15% or so of people who cleared it.

Also, if you are not and you're anything other than Genotype 1, treatment is shorter, 24 weeks.  There is a recommended six months after treatment before you can get pregnant to allow the drugs to clear from the body as well and some might choose to take longer as a fuller precautionary measure.  So If you want to have a family and you decide to pursue treatment first, you'll need to consider not only the treatment time but the recovery time as part of the overall delay.  

[Trinity4]

Genotype 4 also requires 48 weeks of treatment but unlikely you are genotype 4 as that is more common in the middle east.

Trinity

[spectda]

You have gotten a lot of good advice here. Although some people decide to have children when they have a disease which they know has a possibility of being passed on, you have a possibility of getting cured before trying to have a child and not having that risk. If you had already tried to clear the virus and couldn't and you were asking the same question I think you would get a different response.

As the group has advised you here, you need to find out what genotype and stage of the disease you both have, and you need to be sure you really have it. You may just have antibodies which means your body fought the disease off by itself and you do not have it.. Some of the strains (genotypes) of the disease are fairly easily cured with shorter treatment time. How were you diagnosed, do you have any copies of the test was performed for both of you?

[Trish77]

"Genotype 4 also requires 48 weeks of treatment but unlikely you are genotype 4 as that is more common in the middle east."

I don't generally think beyond Genotype 1, 2 and 3 when discussing in here when I'm not clearly speaking with someone from the middle East so that's the context of my statement that anything other than Geno 1 requires 24 weeks. However true enough on the Geno 4 as well and we do have one person here who is Geno 4 and my statement is inaccurate as stated.  So rider14, on the offchance that you and your girlfriend are from the Middle East or contracted it there or from someone in the Middle East who came here ... more complete info for you.

In a nutshell, find out your Genotype and IF you truly have chronic Hep C and you'll know how long of a treatment you would face if you were to pursue that.

[mikesimon]

One US liver unit reported 9% of their HCV cases were genotype 4 but neglected to mention the nationality of those patients. I'm pretty sure that it's possible to be infected with g4 HCV without actually being from the Middle East.
We must strive for accuracy here.

Mike

[Trinity4]

That is very true Mike.  Despite geno's 1-3 being the most common in the country, HCV-4 infection is steadily migrating and spreading beyond its strongholds in Africa and the Middle East. HCV-4 has recently spread in several Western countries, particularly in Europe, due to variations in population structure, immigration, and routes of transmission.

Trinity

[Trish77]

"However true enough on the Geno 4 as well and we do have one person here who is Geno 4 and
my statement is inaccurate as stated.  
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So rider14, on the offchance that you and your girlfriend are from the Middle East
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or contracted it there
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or from someone in the Middle East who came here ... more complete info for you. "
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[lupette]

I am 54 years old. I have had HCV for almost 40 years. I have known about it since 1995 and have through 3 treatments totaling 30 months. I lost my thyroid, suffered many sides and like many others with the dreaded 1a, I relapsed after every one of them!

Not knowing that I had HCV,  I had a child in 1989. I nursed him for 6 months too! Not only is he free of the disease, NEXT YEAR HE WILL BE GRADUATING FROM THE UNITED STATES AIRFORCE ACADEMY! He also got one of the coveted pilot slots! He is a bright and shining example of the fantastic youth in our country and I am VERY proud of him!

It really bugs me that, had I know I had HCV in 1989, some of you would have advised me not to have a child! HCV IS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE! Have kids, live your life! If you get unlucky and land in the 4% YOUR CHILD WILL HAVE A LIFE TOO! Learn to live with HCV not just exist. This is good advice for everyone here not just for the question poser. Beleive it or not, HCV is actually hard to get so stop being so afraid and live!

[sunshines76]

I went through IVF treatment - my doc new I had hep C and advised me to have a baby first, and then treat later when I am ready. His reasoning was - you never know how tx would affect you and what would be the consequences later. While on another side you know that the chance to pass it to your baby is only 4-5%. He also advised me to deliver through c-section to minimize the risk. As a result, we have two beautiful, smart, and healthy kids. I completely agree with Lupette's post above.
I think when someone suggests that it is more "moral and ethical" to have a kid after tx, they forget to mention that it takes time to detoxify your body from all the shots and pills you take. I am glad I had my kids when I had them.

[copyman]

i still say since you and partner are young get rid of the HCV first then have the baby.  it is one thing not to know you have HCV and have a child, but to know is a different story. I can just speak for myself,  I wouldn't be able to accept that I didn't do anything and gave this to my baby.

[spectda]

I think you should try to get rid of the disease first also. As copyman said you are young and have time to treat and reccuperate. It is great that it worked out for some of the people that didn't pass it on to their child, but I would guess those that did pass it on to their child might feel differently about watching their child go through treatment.

I watched a documentary of a young 18 year old girl recently whose mother had passed it on to her. The mother had a lot of guilt watching her 18 year go through treatment which in the end did not cure her. The girl was devastated, tired from having hep c for 18 years already,  and very fearful about her future.

[Diane12855]

I got hep c in the late 1980s and didn't know it until this past January. I've had 3 kids that didn't get it, but there are others on here who's kids did get it. If I had known, and a treatment existed before I had my kids, I would have treated first. I don't think I'd want to chance even the 4% on a child.

You can't make any kind of intelligent decision until you know your genotype and the stage and grade of liver damage you are at anyhow.

Also... I remember when I was much younger and wanting a baby. It took my husband and I 8 years for me to get pregnant. All I had in my mind at the time was holding that sweet little baby....aaawwwwwwww. I don't think I once considered that fact that I was going to have that child to support and be there for at least 20 years, plus having more than one meant it will be a LOT more years that I'll have someone to support and be there for, since my youngest is 11 years younger than my oldest. You may consider having your girlfriend read this. Having children is a LONGTERM commitment that takes a lot more conviction and hardship than it takes to go through treatment. IT IS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK!!!  I love my kids for sure, but it isn't easy on anybody who isn't realistic about it.

[riders14]

First of all Thanks to everyone who advice me best from there side...and i really appreciate that i've lots of friends now, who help me in every steps where i feel that i need advice help and support. thank u once again buddies...
well i plan to make a test of us as i know of me while i was honk kong and donate blood since 2 yrs back, i came to know that i've hep c. the doctor called me and said that u've hep c..i just listen to him coz i was shocked and can't remember what he said of my genotype and all...well guys what i need to do is to know our genotype isn't it?
thank u guys for your help and advice as i get my test i will let u know and do help me wat further should go for...
riders 14

[Isobella]

Please get further confirmation that you both actually do have HCV and not just the antibodies.

I have had HCV for about 35 years and I did pass it to my daughter.  So for me, that 4% chance was actually 100%.

If you  do have this disease and are reluctant to treat, imagine what it's going to be like to possibly have to watch your kid  go through it as well.

Looking back, would I have gotten pregnant knowing I could pass this on.....I'm just thankful I didn't have to face that decision.  But I wouldn't trade my kid in for anything and I am thankful I have her. Next year is gonna be rough watching her treat, though.

Good luck to you both.

Isobella