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Obstetric cholestasis is a condition of the liver that some women suffer from (more commonly in the last trimester) during pregnancy. The liver becomes oversensitive to the pregnancy hormones, and bile (which the liver produces normally to aid digestion) is reduced which means bile salts build up in the blood.
The main symptom is intense itching. Obstetric cholestasis affects about 1% of pregnant women, making it quite uncommon. The risk of having a stillborn rises by about 15%.
At about 30 weeks pregnant I started to become really itchy. Not just the normal belly itch, as is quite common with pregnant women, but itchy everywhere. Especially on my feet, palms and back. I remember getting my husband to scratch my back and feet so hard that he was worried he was going to hurt me! I would sit in quite a hot bath some nights scouring at my feet with a pumice stone until I bled sometimes, then coated myself with an anti itch pregnancy oil (which to be honest, did absolutely nothing). I knew something was wrong and went on the internet trying to find any reasons for my symptoms and found obstetric cholestasis, but brushed it aside, as it was apparenly not a common condition. I mentioned the itching to my Doctor at one of my antenatal appointments, but nothing was really done. She just told me to let her know if it got any worse.
When I was 36 weeks pregnant, I told the Doctor at the hospital my itching was unbearable, making me feel sick and keeping me up for hours at night scratching intensely. She finally sent me off to get a bile salts (acid) and liver function test. I didn't end up hearing about the results until I turned up for my 38 week appointment, when I asked her if my test was okay. She told me I needed to be induced as soon as possible, as my results were quite high. I was booked in to be induced the next day. She didn't even really explain the risks of obstetric cholestasis, nor did she explain the condition itself.
Even the midwife who broke my waters wasn't sure of the condition, and told me I should've waited until my baby was ready to be born! As soon as they delivered my daughter Ava, the itching stopped, although she had jaundice which needed to be treated, but I'm not sure if this was related to the cholestasis or not. I was afraid of falling pregnant again, as there is about a 60% chance of it recurring in future pregnancies, but I went the full 9 months (and 10 days) pregnant with my son without it showing up again. I made sure I got the liver test quite early too, at about 28 weeks, and it was returned normal.
My advice to pregnant mothers suffering from intense itching is to report it to your Doctor asap and make sure they do the bile salts (acid) and liver function test. Obstetric cholestasis is quite uncommon, and my Doctor didn't really know much about it herself, so could easily be overlooked as in my case. I have read stories on the internet of women who actually lost their babies to this condition. No one is exactly sure why it causes stillbirth.
(June 2007) (
Lexi xxx
