Liver Disease in Pregnancy

Liver diseases in pregnancy include acute fatty liver, intrahepatic cholestasis, preeclampsia, and HELLP Syndrome.

what is liver disease in pregnancy?: Learn what defines liver disease in pregnancy and what its general consequences are.
fast facts: Get a quick overview of liver disease in pregnancy through statistics and bite-sized facts.
symptoms: Learn about the symptoms of liver disease in pregnancy, how to recognize them, and what to do if you experience them.
lifestyle impacts: Find out how liver disease in pregnancy impacts your lifestyle.
what can I do?: Discover management and treatment strategies for liver disease in pregnancy.
additional resources: Find useful links, education, articles, recipes and more that can help with liver disease in pregnancy.

what is liver disease in pregnancy?

Liver diseases in pregnancy is uncommon but can occur due to unknown direct causes.

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is a serious condition that occurs in the third trimester that can lead to liver failure and encephalopathy (mental confusion and coma). This condition can lead to death in the fetus and mother if the diagnosis is late.
Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is when the liver is unable to excrete bile, resulting in severe itching from bile salts that are deposited in the skin. The flow of bile in the gallbladder is affected by pregnancy hormones. It can also occur outside of the liver (extrahepatic cholestasis), inside the liver (intrahepatic cholestasis), or obstetric cholestasis.
Preeclampsia is a condition characterized by high blood pressure, proteins in urine, swelling, sudden weight gain, and headaches. The liver is impacted since it becomes inflamed due to elevation of liver enzymes.
HELLP Syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver tests, low platelets) is a condition involving hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets. The characteristics overlap with AFLP.

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is associated with fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting
Cholestasis of pregnancy is linked with severe itching

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and fatty liver disease of pregnancy can lead to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.

In acute fatty liver of pregnancy, emergency delivery of the baby is the only treatment and can reverse liver damage.
Intrahepatic cholestasis can be treated with ursodeoxycholic acid to reduce the levels of bile acids.

Here are a few questions to ask your doctor or medical team during pregnancy: