[Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies in obstetric patients at the Nuevo Hospital Civil de Guadalajara].

The hepatitis C virus is the predominant cause of parental transmission of hepatitis. The importance to recognize the prevalence of this virus in obstetrics patients is the possible vertical transmission of mother to child which has been reported by various authors. The objective of this investigation was to determine the presence of antibodies of the hepatitis C virus in the obstetrical population of the Nuevo Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. Selection was made at random; questionnaires were applied to identify factors of associated risks. Of the 244 patients studied, the prevalence was found in 2% (n = 5). The only risk factor closely related was previous blood transfusion (P < 0.00004964) with a relative risk of 29.6 for the obstetrics population with previous transfusion.