Park JS and Pan C, Department of Internal Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, USA, provide a review of current recommendations for HBV control during pregnancy. Included are characteristics of hepatitis B virus infection before, during, and after delivery, risk factors for increased mother-to-child transmission, safety data on the use of antiviral medications during pregnancy, and the potential role of cesarean section in selected cases. Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B occurs in the perinatal period despite the widespread use of immunoprophylaxis for infants delivered by HBV-infected mothers. Evidence has recently emerged that antiviral therapy in pregnant women with severe viremia, when entering late pregnancy, can prevent failure of immunoprophylaxis in infants. Drug safety data now indicate that lamivudine, telbivudine, and tenofovirate are generally safe when applied during pregnancy. To minimize fetal exposure to antiviral drugs, antiviral therapy during pregnancy should be limited to specific patients (those with cirrhosis, high HBVDNA loads, or the presence of immunoprophylaxis failure). Elective cesarean section can reduce the risk of perinatal mother-to-child transmission. Therefore, it is especially important for women who are planning to become pregnant or are in the early stages of pregnancy to have timely communication with obstetricians, gastroenterologists, and infectious disease physicians in regular hospitals.