Pregnancy comes with a lot of aches, pains, and minor complications. Typically they’re just annoyances that go away, and rarely become something serious.

Most of you have probably heard of preeclampsia. But you probably haven’t heard of Cholestasis. It’s a liver disorder that might show up during pregnancy. Usually, it’ll show up in the third trimester, and no one knows yet exactly why it happens. It causes a backlog of bile acids in the bloodstream when your liver all of a sudden stops moving the bile acid out of its cells.

So how do you know if you have Cholestasis? You’ll feel itchy, starting on the soles of your feet and palms of your hands. Other symptoms can include dark urine, pale poop, and sometimes jaundice.

As one woman shares, “I remember that one day my feet were just bit itchy. But by that night, I wished I could scratch them right off! The itching spread to my hands and then my arms and legs. I tried lotion and antihistamines, but they didn’t help.”

If you think you have Cholestasis, tell your doctor. They’ll ask you to come in for some bloodwork. If you do have it, they’ll probably prescribe you a medication called Ursodeoxycholic Acid. It’ll likely reduce (or even get rid of!) the itching. Your doctor will also give some tips and monitor your pregnancy more closely because having this disease puts your baby at a higher risk.

If you’d like to learn more info, try visiting www.icpcare.org. They also have a great Facebook page and support group. The good news is that everything should go back to normal pretty quickly after you deliver!