How is cholestasis treated?
Natural therapies
Cholestasis of pregnancy (sometimes referred to as 'intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy' or 'obstetric cholestasis' or 'OC') is a liver disorder occurring in about 1-1.5% of pregnancies. Cholestasis usually occurs after 20 weeks of the pregnancy and is possibly caused by the hormone oestrogen, interacting with the liver, to suppress the flow of bile from the liver into the woman's bowel. This can cause a build up of toxins (liver enzymes, bilirubin and bile acids) that then leach into the woman's blood stream. The disorder is diagnosed by blood tests, looking specifically at the woman's liver function, and measuring bile acids.
The most common symptom of cholestasis is the woman experiencing itchiness, especially of her hands and feet, sometimes extending to the rest of her body. The itchiness is usually worse at night and often contributes to the woman feeling extremely uncomfortable, sometimes losing sleep, and leading to tiredness (and sometimes feelings of depression). While the woman may feel itchy, there are usually no obvious signs of a rash (except possibly scratch marks!), and the woman's skin often feels 'heated'. The itch is also not generally relieved if the woman uses various skin treatments for itchy skin.
Some women with cholestasis feel nauseated, and can vomit intermittently throughout their pregnancy. About 1 in 5 (or 20% of) women will become mildly
jaundiced, and sometimes experiencing darkened urine and pale bowel motions. It is not uncommon for the woman to also experience recurrent urine infections. About 40% of women will have cholestasis again, in a subsequent pregnancy. Women with a history of heavy alcohol use (or having had
hepatitis in the past) are more likely to develop cholestasis. There is some evidence that the condition could be hereditary (that is, the woman's mother may have had it during her pregnancies).
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