Resources
Itching in Pregnancy
What causes itching?
- Increase in the blood circulating to the skin
- Rapid growth and stretching of the skin, especially of the belly
- Dehydration
- Deficiency of essential oils in diet
- Allergies, which can be worsened by pregnancy
- Skin sensitivity to new creams (e.g. those used to prevent stretch marks)
- In rare cases, liver problems resulting in a build-up of bile salts [Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy]
- Infection (e.g. candida)
- Any kind of stress (physically, emotionally, mentally) can worsen existing symptoms
- Can occur anytime, but more likely in the 2nd & 3rd trimesters, especially if related to skin stretching and growth
- If it is pregnancy related, it will go away after birth (usually within 48 hours but in rare cases weeks after the birth)
Sometimes symptoms can be minimized or eliminated with diet/lifestyle changes
- Minimize stress
- Hydration ––2-3L per day
- Olive/almond/apricot oil (2-3 tablespoons in bath)
- Flax seed oil (internally)
- Omega 3-6-9 oil (e.g. Udo’s oil)
- Homeopathic Apis
- Milk thistle tincture
- Dandelion root tincture
- Light therapy (time in the sun)
- Cold compresses, cool baths
- Baking soda – in bath or applied as paste
- Calamine lotion
- Aloe vera gel (externally)
- Oatmeal baths
- Antihistamine
- Cut nails really short to prevent damage from scratching
- Hydrocortisone cream (needs prescription)
- Oral steroid (needs prescription)
Please let your midwife know:
- If you develop a rash
- If your itching is on the souls of your feet and palms of your hands
- If you have upper-right quadrant pain (i.e. pain in your liver area, under the right ribs)
- If the itching is interfering with your life. Even if the cause is benign, you made need prescription topical or oral steroids to help cope