Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Dec;14(4):204-210.
doi: 10.1177/1753495X20985366. Epub 2021 Jan 21.

A review of pruritus in pregnancy

Meghan Rudder  1 , Emily G Lefkowitz  2 , Tereda Ruhama  3 , Elnaz Firoz  2
Affiliations
Review

A review of pruritus in pregnancy

Meghan Rudder et al. Obstet Med. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Pruritus is a common dermatologic complaint during pregnancy. Pruritus is reported by 23-38% of women during pregnancy, and 2% report severe pruritus. In addition to interfering with sleep and reducing overall quality of life during pregnancy, pruritus may be the first, or only, symptom of an underlying disorder that may impact maternal and fetal outcomes. It is therefore critical for all providers caring for pregnant women to be familiar with pregnancy-specific and non-specific conditions associated with pruritus to most effectively manage this unique population. In this review, we discuss clinical classification of pruritus, a practical approach to the differential diagnosis of pruritus in pregnancy, and focus on updates in the clinical features, diagnosis, management, and prognosis of pregnancy-specific causes of pruritus.

Keywords: Dermatoses of pregnancy; itch; pregnancy; pruritus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Algorithm for assessment of etiologies of pruritus in pregnancy. AEP: atopic eruption of pregnancy, PPP: pustular psoriasis of pregnancy, PG: pemphigoid gestationis, PEP polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, ICP: intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Weisshaar E, Eckart WU, Bernhard JD. Historical background of itch. Handb Exp Pharmacol 2015; 226: 1. - PubMed
    1. Derm A, Matterne U, Apfelbacher CJ, et al. Prevalence, correlates and characteristics of chronic pruritus: a population-based cross-sectional study. Acta Derm Venereol 2011; 91: 674–679. - PubMed
    1. Mehta N, Chen KK, Kroumpouzos G. Skin disease in pregnancy: the approach of the obstetric medicine physician. Clin Dermatol 2016; 34: 320–326. - PubMed
    1. Kenyon AP, Tribe RM, Nelson-Piercy C, et al. Pruritus in pregnancy: a study of anatomical distribution and prevalence in relation to the development of obstetric cholestasis. Obstet Med 2010; 3: 25–29. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Szczȩch J, Wiatrowski A, Hirnle L, et al. Prevalence and relevance of pruritus in pregnancy. BioMed Res Int 2017; 2017: 1–12. DOI: 10.1155/2017/4238139. - PMC - PubMed