Anyone have trouble with there liver during pregnancy?

[Leanna26]

I am 22 weeks and had to go see a specialty doc for women, because since about 14 weeks I have had a rash on my upper arms and chest. It seemed like dry skin but lotion was not doing anything.

After the doc looked at the rash and noted that my veins show through my skin ( which he says is from smoking...but I have cut down to 3-4 smokes a day, and always noticed that my skin was kind of translucent since I was a kid) They think something may be up with my liver, so they ordered a bunch of tests, including measuring my bile acid in my blood.

Anyone else ever here of this problem during pregnancy or developing a liver related rash?

[michelle148]

Me too. Good luck and keep us posted

[Leanna26]

Thanks Michelle

I hope the tests don't come back high...

[michelle148]

Have found this info on the net for you:-
Obstetric cholestasis is an uncommon complication of pregnancy which causes a build up of bile acids in the bloodstream. The main symptom is persistent itch in the later third of pregnancy. There is possibly a small increased risk of complications of pregnancy, but the evidence for this is not conclusive. Symptoms go when you have the baby. Some treatments may help to ease the itch.

Until recently it had been thought that obstetric cholestasis caused a small increased risk of stillbirth. The risk of stillbirth in a normal pregnancy is about 1 in 100, and the risk if you have obstetric cholestasis was thought to be a little more than this.

However, an analysis in 2006 of the stillbirth figures looking back over a number of years concluded that the rate of stillbirth in women with obstetric cholestasis is no different to those without obstetric cholestasis. However, some people feel that the interpretation of these figures is not quite correct. They say that it is true to say that the rate of stillbirth in women with obstetric cholestasis is no greater than normal if they are actively managed. That is, if the baby is delivered at 37 weeks, which was common practice. What is disputed is that, if a woman with obstetric cholestasis is left to go to term, there may still be a small increased risk of stillbirth.

So, some people still feel that there may be a small risk of stillbirth unless the baby is delivered early (at about 37 weeks). More research is needed to clarify this issue.

For the mother
There is possibly an increased risk of serious bleeding from the womb just after giving birth. However, again the studies are not conclusive and there may be no increased risk of this.

[Leanna26]

HA found the name he called it

Obstetric Cholestasis