What causes itchy belly after childbirth?

Many women experience itchy bellies when they are close to their due date or just after giving birth. The itching is usually extremely unbearable and makes it difficult to fall asleep. At this time, you should be careful not to use cleaning products that may irritate dry skin. Instead, you should provide the skin on your belly with certain nutrients and moisture to relieve belly itching. Next, let’s take a look at the specific reasons for itchy belly after childbirth!

The most common conditions that cause itchy skin in pregnant women are:

1. Pregnancy skin disease: More than 15% of pregnant women may encounter this skin disease. The whole body may itch, usually occurring during the sixth or seventh month of pregnancy. There are no changes on the skin other than itching, and no rashes or blisters appear. The cause of the disease is generally believed to be related to the increase in estrogen during pregnancy and has no effect on the fetus.

2. Pregnancy rash: About 2% of pregnant women may develop this disease, usually between the 4th and 9th months of pregnancy. Small red rashes appear on the skin, most often on the extremities, and look like insect bites. Some pregnant women think that the problem is caused by lice or fleas on their pets, but in fact it is caused by the pregnancy itself and has no effect on the fetus.

3. Toxic skin rash during pregnancy: The prevalence is about 1%, mostly occurring in short and obese pregnant women, and most often occurs when stretch marks appear. It is currently believed that it may be related to hormonal imbalance. The comforting thing is that this skin itching will not harm the fetus.

4. Papular dermatitis of pregnancy: The incidence rate is very low and the disease may occur in any part of the body. When the disease occurs, rashes will appear on the skin all over the body. The cause of this disease is still unclear, but it may cause miscarriage or stillbirth, so you must be especially careful.

5. Pregnancy rash and eczema are also common causes of itchy belly in pregnant women. The former is caused by the mother's rejection of the genes and chromosomes in the child's body that come from the father. In addition to itchy belly, rashes and itching may appear on the thighs and even upper limbs, and some may also have pigmentation. The latter (eczema) is common in pregnant women who sweat a lot, have a high metabolism, or are obese. In addition to the above common reasons, some diseases may also cause itchy belly during pregnancy. Therefore, Director Jia reminds pregnant women and their families not to take itchy belly lightly, and it is best to report it to the doctor in time to find out the cause.

6. Itching all over the body may be caused by cholestasis. Bilirubin is secreted by liver cells, enters the gallbladder through the liver's bile ducts, and forms bile. After eating, the stimulated bile duct contracts, causing bile to be discharged into the duodenum. The main function of bile is to assist gastrointestinal digestion and absorption. The bile salts it contains can emulsify fat and promote the body's absorption of lipid vitamins. Cholestasis of pregnancy can be simply explained as a large amount of bile refluxing into the blood due to poor excretion, thus causing some adverse consequences. In medicine, cholestasis of pregnancy is caused by the placenta producing a large amount of androgen during pregnancy, which changes the permeability of cell membranes and weakens the function of bile excretion, leading to bile stasis and bile thrombus formation, causing bile acid and bilirubin to reflux into the blood, resulting in a series of clinical symptoms such as itching all over the body in late pregnancy.

Generally speaking, when the belly is severely itchy after childbirth, it is recommended to apply some milder and non-irritating nourishing products on the belly, which can effectively relieve and improve the itchy belly after childbirth. It is best not to use soap or shower gel when taking a bath. If you really want to take a bath in winter, do not take a bath for too long, otherwise it will aggravate the itching of the belly after childbirth.