Itching in pregnancy

Call your midwife or maternity service if you have experienced any of the symptoms below and are worried

  • itching anywhere on your body, especially if worse on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet, please speak to your midwife. Feeling itchy like this can be a sign of Obstetric Cholestatsis and needs to be checked.

Contact information for your local maternity service

East and North Hertfordshire (The Lister Hospital): 01438 284 124

West Essex (The Princess Alexandra Hospital): 01279 827 286 

South and West Hertfordshire (Watford General Hospital): 01923 217 343 

Itching in pregnancy 

Skin rashes can occur for a variety of different reasons and are relatively common in pregnancy. Although they generally do not pose harm to you or your baby, in occasional cases they may be associated with an infection that can be transmitted to your baby. For this reason, if you develop a rash during pregnancy, contact your GP or midwife for advice urgently.

Obstetric Cholestatsis could be a cause of itching in pregancy so therefore it is important you contact your midwife for advice. 

It is very common to experience dry and itching skin in pregnancy because of the hormonal changes. This is often more noticeable when the skin is stretching especially on your abdomen, breasts and thighs. You may find relief by keeping moisturised. Your pharmacist can talk to you about which type of moisturiser (emollient) will work best for your skin condition.

Find out more information and advice by clicking on the links below:  

NHS UK: Infections in pregnancy that may affect your baby - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

RCOG: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy | RCOG

Tommy UK: Itching and Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy | Tommy's (tommys.org)