Chorevia

Day 106 of 280 · 15 weeks + 1 day

Itchy skin

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 5 sources · Plain-text version

Fifteen weeks and one day. About 20 percent of pregnant women feel itchy. Today you build a small kit, and learn the one kind of itch to report.

Size this week
about the size of an apple
Length this week
around 10.1 cm from head to bottom
A white woman in a loose cotton vest sitting on the edge of a bath in a small sunlit bathroom, rubbing unlabelled cream into her forearm, a folded cotton top beside her.

Fifteen weeks and one day. If your skin has started to itch, you're in good company, and most of it is ordinary. Today is a small kit and one rule about when to say something.

Your baby

A single red apple on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around 10.1cm long from head to bottom, about the size of an apple (NHS). The baby has developed a soft layer of hair, called lanugo, over the body, and the eyebrows and eyelashes are starting to form (NHS). The lanugo usually disappears before birth; the NHS suggests it may be there for keeping warm (NHS).

Your body

About 20 percent of pregnant women feel itchy during pregnancy, and it typically resolves after delivery (OWH). The NHS's advice for itchy skin is plain: an unperfumed moisturiser, loose cotton clothing, and cool baths; seek advice if it worsens, especially at night (NHS). MedlinePlus adds: avoid perfumed products on itchy skin (MedlinePlus).

Most skin, hair and nail changes in pregnancy are normal and resolve afterward (MedlinePlus). There is one exception worth knowing by name. Persistent itching without a rash should be reported to your provider, because it may indicate cholestasis (MedlinePlus). The rest of today is about making that distinction easy to notice.

Try today

  1. The itch kit

    Time: 10 minutes

    1. One unperfumed moisturiser, kept by the bed (NHS).

    2. One loose cotton top for sleeping in (NHS).

    3. A note on your phone with three columns: where it itches, when it's worst, and whether there's a rash. "Worse at night" and "no rash" are the two things a provider will ask about (NHS; MedlinePlus).

    4. Run tonight's bath cooler than you'd like (NHS).

    Make it work:

    If the note fills up with "no rash" and "night", that's the one to report, not the one to moisturise harder (MedlinePlus).

Watch for

  • Normal

    itching; about 20 percent of pregnant women get it (OWH).

    Call your provider

    for persistent itching without a rash, which may indicate cholestasis (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    an itch that comes and goes and eases with moisturiser and cool water (NHS).

    Call your provider today

    if it worsens, especially at night (NHS).

  • Normal

    brownish patches on the face and a dark line down the lower belly, both from hormone changes (MedlinePlus).

    Call your provider

    before taking an antihistamine for the itch (MedlinePlus).

For you

The antihistamine in the cupboard is a phone call, not a decision you make alone. MedlinePlus says to talk with your provider before taking one (MedlinePlus), and the CDC's broader advice is to be cautious with online "safe medicine" lists, many of which lack sufficient evidence (CDC). If you want an expert answer fast, the CDC names MotherToBaby, free and confidential, by phone at 1-866-626-6847 (CDC).

For the ordinary kind of itch, the comfort is that it's temporary. Most skin changes in pregnancy resolve afterward (MedlinePlus).

If you're the partner: swap the scented laundry liquid for an unscented one this week without being asked. Nobody will notice except her skin.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Get each day’s note the morning it applies

Add your due date to a free Chorevia household, and every morning until the birth the day's note arrives in the app and by email: what's forming, what your body is doing, one thing to try, what to watch for, and a word for you.

Create your household