Patient's question:
My wife has been pregnant for six and a half months, but recently she has noticed her skin is itchy, especially on her stomach. I want to ask the doctor if there could be any abnormalities? First follow-up question: Thank you all the doctors, today she went for a check-up, and everything was normal!!!Doctor's answer:
Hello: Pruritus during pregnancy is a unique complication of gestation, with an incidence rate of approximately 2% to 4% among pregnant women. It has a recurrent characteristic. For example, if a woman develops intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) during her first pregnancy, it naturally resolves after delivery without leaving any, but the same condition may recur during her second pregnancy around the seventh month, and it will improve again after delivery. This condition also tends to have a familial predisposition, with cases where both the mother and daughter or sisters experience the condition during pregnancy.Why do pregnant women experience itching, elevated liver transaminase levels, or even jaundice? Research has shown that this occurs because the placenta produces large amounts of estrogen, which alters the permeability function of cell membranes. The liver's ability to excrete bile is weakened, leading to bile stasis, which consequently causes this condition. Its main risks include increasing the likelihood of preterm birth, fetal intrauterine distress, and fetal intrauterine mortality, as well as raising the risk of postpartum hemorrhage in pregnant women.