What causes the entire body to itch during pregnancy?

Q. I am pregnant and my entire body is itching, what could be the reason?

Answered by
Dr. Gowrimeena
and medically reviewed by iCliniq medical review team.
This is a premium question & answer published on Oct 16, 2014 and last reviewed on: Feb 14, 2023

Hi doctor,

I am pregnant, and my entire body is itching. What could be the reason? Please help.

#

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

If there is itching alone (especially involving palms and soles) without any skin rashes, it could be a condition called obstetric cholestasis. In obstetric cholestasis, the liver is unable to send out the waste product called bile acids, and they accumulate in the blood and get deposited in the skin leading to itching.

This can be picked up by a simple blood test. It can affect the baby if the levels are too high. We generally deliver the baby by 37 weeks to avoid this. You will need other tests to check for liver function, hepatitis virus, etc. And we need to monitor the baby through scans, CTG (cardiotocography), etc.


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