Mum warns pregnant women about the dangers of ignoring itchy skin… and her advice could save your unborn child’s life
Christina DePino's itch was so unbearable it was keeping her up at night
A MUM has warned pregnant women about the danger of ignoring itchy skin, and her advice could save your unborn child's life.
An itch might seem like a harmless annoyance, but Christina DePino discovered it was anything but - after the intense feeling kept her awake at night, and left her scratching at her skin until it was scabbed and bleeding.
The 29-year-old, from Michigan, USA, gave birth to her daughter Lexa Rae nearly a year ago - on March 28.
But things could have been very different if Christina's sister-in-law, a nurse, hadn't noticed the signs of the rare liver condition which left her with an all-consuming itch, which can cause a stillbirth.
Christina told : “I posted on Facebook saying that I just wanted to peel my skin off! Nothing would help the itching.”
At the time, she was 35 weeks pregnant - and Christina's sister-in-law suggested she could have intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP).
Christina immediately contacted her doctor for blood tests, and was diagnosed with ICP. She was induced at 37 weeks.
Still speaking to Global News, Christina added: “As soon as I was holding my beautiful baby girl in my arms, all I could think was, ‘What if? What if I had not complained on Facebook? What if no one had told me?'”
Determined to spread the word, Christina returned to Facebook and .
Worried you might have ICP? This is the NHS advice
Itching is common in pregancy, thanks to raised hormone levels and your skin stretching over your tummy.
But it can also be a symptom of a liver condition called intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), also known as obstetric cholestasis (OC).
ICP affects one in 140 pregnant women in the UK, around 5,500 a year.
What is ICP?
Normally, bile acids flow from your liver to your gut to help you digest food.
With ICP, the bile acids don't flow properly and build up in your body instead.
There's no cure for ICP, but it should go once you've had your baby.
It often runs in families, and is more common in women of Indian, Pakistani or South American origin.
If you've had it once, you've got a high chance of developing ICP in later pregnancies.
Some studies have found that babies whose mums have ICP have a higher chance of being born prematurely or stillborn, so you may be offered an induced birth at 37-38 weeks.
Symptoms normally start at 30 weeks, but can occur as early as eight weeks into pregnancy.
As well as an unberable itch, which is worse at night, symptoms include:
- Dark urine
- Pale bowel movements
- Jaundice: yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (this is less common)
If you think you may have ICP, you should visit your GP. .
She said: "If your pregnant & your itching REALLY bad, don't ignore it!!
"Started having severe itching a few weeks ago, (it was keeping me up at night).
"Thanks to a little Facebook complaining I got the itch checked out & found out I had pregnancy Cholestasis, which is basically harmless for me - except for the crazy itching - But could have caused a still born after 37 weeks!!
"I was officially diagnosed last week and had to get her out this week! We are so blessed!
"Thanks guys for giving some amazing advice which may have just saved our precious girl's life! Yeah We are SO BLESSED & in awe!!!"
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
Christina urged others to spread the word, and her post has since been shared more than 28,000 times.
She made the post a year ago, but it's been going viral again this week - as little Lexa's first birthday approaches.
Earlier this week, another mum shared harrowing photos of her son "at death’s door", to warn others of the signs of meningitis.
While Andrea McLean has warned women going through menopause to be careful, after she got pregnant when she thought she couldn’t have any more kids.
for more information about the condition.