Breastfeeding of newborns by mothers carrying hepatitis B virus: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review of prospective studies to confirm the role of breastfeeding in mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV).

DATA SOURCES: A database was constructed from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, National Science Digital Library, and China Biological Medicine Database and through contact with experts in this field from January 1, 1990, to August 31, 2010.

STUDY SELECTION: All studies were peer reviewed and met the preset inclusion standards.

MAIN EXPOSURE: Breastfeeding.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Data regarding HBV intrauterine infection, MTCT, maternal blood and breast milk infectiousness, infant immunoprophylaxis methods and response, and adverse events. The Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effects model was used for all analyses using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS: Ten qualified studies were included. All were clinical controlled trials, involving 751 infants in the breastfeeding group and 873 infants in the nonbreastfeeding group. As indicated by infant peripheral blood hepatitis B surface antigen or HBV DNA positivity at age 6 to 12 months, the odds ratio of MTCT of HBV in the breastfeeding group compared with that in the nonbreastfeeding group was 0.86 (95% confidence interval, 0.51-1.45) (from 8 clinical controlled trials, P = .56; I(2) = 0%, P = .99). As indicated by infant peripheral blood hepatitis B surface antibody positivity at age 6 to 12 months, the odds ratio of development of hepatitis B surface antibodies in the breastfeeding group compared with that in the nonbreastfeeding group was 0.98 (95% confidence interval, 0.69-1.40) (from 8 clinical controlled trials, P = .93; I(2) = 0%, P = .99). No adverse events or complications during breastfeeding were observed.

CONCLUSION: Breastfeeding after proper immunoprophylaxis did not contribute to MTCT transmission of HBV.