©Pregnancy bliss 2008
Itchy skin eruptions in pregnancy
This is more common than obstetric cholestasis. It can occur at any stage of the pregnancy, even though it is rare in the first fifteen weeks of gestation. Some women are affected for the first time in the first week after delivery.
The characteristic rash normally begins on the abdomen, before spreading elsewhere on the body. The face is usually spared. The itching can be quite severe and distressing.
Apart from the distress caused by itching, the condition is harmless to the mother and the fetus. When the itching is severe, mild steroids in the form of a cream, lotion, even tablets may be used to relieve the symptoms.
Pregnancy-
Recurrence
Itchy skin eruptions do not always recur in a subsequent pregnancy but they may do. When this happens, the condition is usually milder than the previous time.
Other skin conditions in pregnancy
Pemphigoid gestationis
The one other dramatic skin condition is the one known as "pemphigoid gestationis"(PG) Formerly it was called "herpes gestationis", but the name "herpes" was misleading as it has nothing to do with the herpes virus.
Pemphigoid gestationis is characterized by the eruption of fluid-
There are no other complications to the mother but the condition has a tendency to recur; usually with increased severity, in subsequent pregnancies.
There is only weak evidence that the baby may be growth-
A small proportion of babies develop a milder form of the condition after the birth, but this soon clears up.
©Medscape