for Veterans and the Public
What is the risk of a pregnant woman passing hepatitis C to her baby? - Hepatitis C for Patients
It is possible to get pregnant if you or your partner has hepatitis C. If you are a man with hepatitis C, and your female partner does not have hepatitis C (throughout the entire pregnancy), then there is no chance that the baby will contract the virus from the mother. If you are a pregnant woman who already has hepatitis C (or gets hepatitis C at some point during the pregnancy), the chance of passing the virus to your baby is low, less than 5 percent. The risk becomes greater if the mother has both hepatitis C and HIV. With proper prenatal care, babies born to hepatitis C-positive mothers or fathers are usually quite healthy.
If you are pregnant and have hepatitis C, the chance of your baby being infected with hepatitis C is the same whether your baby is born by vaginal delivery or c-section. With either method of delivery, the chance is around 5%, which is extremely low.