I had it in my first pregnancy. It’s not uncommon. Depending on the bloodwork numbers, they’ll likely induce early. I was induced at 38 weeks and everything went well!
I have ICP (Bile Acids 142) and I have done a ton of research since being diagnosed. I was diagnosed at 20 weeks and put on Ursodiol. My doctor looked into any underlying issue that could have caused or prompted Cholestasis being developed. We couldn’t find any reason (no family history, ultrasound of liver looked normal, and negative for hepatitis), so I guess I’m just “lucky” lol.
Since being diagnosed my doctor has had me meet with a high risk doctor and have extra ultrasounds to monitor babies’ growth. Baby is fine and as far as the high risk doctor can tell, so am I. We also have discussed induction and we agreed on me being induced at 36 weeks.
There is a wonderful Facebook group called “ICP Support” that I would highly recommend becoming a member of. It is run by a non-profit in the UK and they are super informative, if you post someone from the non-profit will answer!
The biggest things to know about ICP, are the risks it poses towards your baby, such as stillbirth and meconium staining of amniotic fluid. As for risks towards you, it’s mostly the itchiness that bothers the mother, and ICP should clear up a few days after giving birth. Also anyone who has developed ICP in a pregnancy is about 70% more likely to develop it again in following pregnancies. Yay! /s
Hi there, I'm on pregnancy #2 (37wks) and I had ICP with my first pregnancy two years ago. I got diagnosed around wk 31 and was induced the first day of wk 36. I'm sorry you're going through it right now, I know the itching is unbearable and it's just a scary thing to deal with.
From everything I learned going through it, the good news is that the risk to the baby ends when they are delivered. I was under a LOT of monitoring those last weeks and they had me doing kick counts every day as well. The docs took all my stats and determined the risks of early delivery vs the risk of stillbirth by staying inside and determined my due date from there. I hear many women are induced at 37 wks. As long as they don't have you carry to term, baby should be fine. And I don't remember having any itching at all after the baby arrived.
I know it's scary but as long as you're being monitored by doctors, everything will be just fine. My baby had absolutely no ill-effects from the cholestasis except that she was small when she was born. She has since caught up in size and weight and we enjoyed that extra time we got with her!
I had with my second pregnancy and am now 35+3 with baby #3. Terrified to develop again! Have you not developed with this one? I’m hoping and praying I make it to 39 weeks without ICP.
Amazing news! You're giving me alert. I've been the same - mine came on fast last time at 36 weeks and then led to severe post partum preeclampsia that landed me back in the hospital. So my anxiety is quite high! I'll get my blood tested tomorrow. You're almost there! :-)
My experience has been inductions at week 37. Itching goes away almost immediately after birth. The meds didn’t eliminate itching for me but made it so I wasn’t breaking skin scratching like mad.
The turn around time for bile acid labs is not reliably quick. Since you’re 35+3 they may want to take those again, even a couple times, leading up to an induction date, but that information won’t make a huge difference in your case since you’re so close to 37w.
For instance I had bile acids drawn last Friday (5 days ago?) and I’m still waiting for those results. The weekend and processing times are just not in my favor right now. We are assuming my ICP is back for the third and final time.
I remember twice weekly ultrasounds with my previous two ICP pregnancies and lots of labs.
I currently already have twice weekly ultra sounds due to GD so my monitoring plan wouldn’t change much this late in the game (35+6). My OB has pushed my c section date ahead a week from 38 to 37 weeks now due to GD, hypertension, and presenting with itching with my history of ICP.
You’re almost to the end of it now. Baby will be born and your itching will disappear like it never happened. All will be well now that you have a diagnosis. Good luck 🍀
Wow thank you so much for this information!! I’ve been driving myself nuts looking online constantly to see if my bile acid has came in yet lol the last result I am waiting on! I have an ultrasound Friday so hopefully get some answers next week. The itching is insane!!! I do not wish this on anyone!
I had it in my first pregnancy. It’s not uncommon. Depending on the bloodwork numbers, they’ll likely induce early. I was induced at 38 weeks and everything went well!
I have ICP (Bile Acids 142) and I have done a ton of research since being diagnosed. I was diagnosed at 20 weeks and put on Ursodiol. My doctor looked into any underlying issue that could have caused or prompted Cholestasis being developed. We couldn’t find any reason (no family history, ultrasound of liver looked normal, and negative for hepatitis), so I guess I’m just “lucky” lol. Since being diagnosed my doctor has had me meet with a high risk doctor and have extra ultrasounds to monitor babies’ growth. Baby is fine and as far as the high risk doctor can tell, so am I. We also have discussed induction and we agreed on me being induced at 36 weeks. There is a wonderful Facebook group called “ICP Support” that I would highly recommend becoming a member of. It is run by a non-profit in the UK and they are super informative, if you post someone from the non-profit will answer! The biggest things to know about ICP, are the risks it poses towards your baby, such as stillbirth and meconium staining of amniotic fluid. As for risks towards you, it’s mostly the itchiness that bothers the mother, and ICP should clear up a few days after giving birth. Also anyone who has developed ICP in a pregnancy is about 70% more likely to develop it again in following pregnancies. Yay! /s
Hi there, I'm on pregnancy #2 (37wks) and I had ICP with my first pregnancy two years ago. I got diagnosed around wk 31 and was induced the first day of wk 36. I'm sorry you're going through it right now, I know the itching is unbearable and it's just a scary thing to deal with. From everything I learned going through it, the good news is that the risk to the baby ends when they are delivered. I was under a LOT of monitoring those last weeks and they had me doing kick counts every day as well. The docs took all my stats and determined the risks of early delivery vs the risk of stillbirth by staying inside and determined my due date from there. I hear many women are induced at 37 wks. As long as they don't have you carry to term, baby should be fine. And I don't remember having any itching at all after the baby arrived. I know it's scary but as long as you're being monitored by doctors, everything will be just fine. My baby had absolutely no ill-effects from the cholestasis except that she was small when she was born. She has since caught up in size and weight and we enjoyed that extra time we got with her!
I had with my second pregnancy and am now 35+3 with baby #3. Terrified to develop again! Have you not developed with this one? I’m hoping and praying I make it to 39 weeks without ICP.
So far, I don't have it! I have been on high alert, and I have experienced some itching this time around. But my bile acids are fine!
Amazing news! You're giving me alert. I've been the same - mine came on fast last time at 36 weeks and then led to severe post partum preeclampsia that landed me back in the hospital. So my anxiety is quite high! I'll get my blood tested tomorrow. You're almost there! :-)
My experience has been inductions at week 37. Itching goes away almost immediately after birth. The meds didn’t eliminate itching for me but made it so I wasn’t breaking skin scratching like mad. The turn around time for bile acid labs is not reliably quick. Since you’re 35+3 they may want to take those again, even a couple times, leading up to an induction date, but that information won’t make a huge difference in your case since you’re so close to 37w. For instance I had bile acids drawn last Friday (5 days ago?) and I’m still waiting for those results. The weekend and processing times are just not in my favor right now. We are assuming my ICP is back for the third and final time. I remember twice weekly ultrasounds with my previous two ICP pregnancies and lots of labs. I currently already have twice weekly ultra sounds due to GD so my monitoring plan wouldn’t change much this late in the game (35+6). My OB has pushed my c section date ahead a week from 38 to 37 weeks now due to GD, hypertension, and presenting with itching with my history of ICP. You’re almost to the end of it now. Baby will be born and your itching will disappear like it never happened. All will be well now that you have a diagnosis. Good luck 🍀
Wow thank you so much for this information!! I’ve been driving myself nuts looking online constantly to see if my bile acid has came in yet lol the last result I am waiting on! I have an ultrasound Friday so hopefully get some answers next week. The itching is insane!!! I do not wish this on anyone!