A SOUTH Lakeland woman is campaigning to raise awareness about an ‘horrific’ condition she suffered during pregnancy.

Natalie Fryer, of Kendal, was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) while pregnant with both of her children, meaning her whole body itched constantly up until she was ready to deliver.

The pregnancy-related condition, which affects more than 5,000 women in the UK every year, is caused by the liver allowing excess bile acids into the blood which puts the baby in utero at risk, as it increases the chances of still birth.

Mrs Fryer said that the lack of knowledge about the illness among other women and medical staff made her experience especially difficult. She hopes to change this by encouraging hospitals in the area to ‘pioneer’ a training process whereby midwives will learn about the illness as a matter of course.

“ICP ruined what was supposed to be one of those amazing times in a woman’s life. At times I could have ripped my skin off,” she said. “To start with, I experienced warmth to my hands and feet a few weeks before the itching started. Then it progressed to intense itching to the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet. Before long, the itching was all over.

“I would go days without any sleep, kept awake by the itching, and become delirious. It put a strain on my marriage as well, as my husband felt so helpless and I was unable to explain it.

“I didn’t know anybody else with the illness apart from my mum who had had it. That led to me feeling very isolated and alone when I didn’t have anybody to talk to.

“To then have the worry about a potential stillbirth looming over you for the whole pregnancy as well makes it very difficult to deal with.

“A major difficulty was that, as ICP is not something that all midwives know about, the consistency of care I needed was not always there. Sometimes you would be speaking to somebody who had studied the illness, and other times you might be talking to somebody who has never heard of it.”

ICP occurs when the flow of bile, which is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, becomes sluggish.

As the flow of bile slows, bile acids build up and flow into the blood. They are not life-threatening for the mother-to-be, but they do cross the placenta and reach the baby.

ICP usually starts from 28 weeks onward in pregnancy, but it can occur as early as seven weeks. The first sign is usually itching, however there is no rash. The itch can be anywhere on the body, but it is usually most noticeable on the hands and feet. Most women agree that it is worse at night.

After her first pregnancy, Mrs Fryer got in touch with charity ICP Support. Wanting her first child, Blake, to have a sibling, meant that she and her husband made the decision to have another child - Sienna.

ICP provided advice and help, making that pregnancy easier.

“ICP Support are a small charity but they do research into the condition and also offer advice. During my second pregnancy the founder, Jenny Chambers, was in touch with me every day,” Mrs Fryer said. “She is an unsung hero in my mind.

“Through raising awareness of the charity and the illness I just want to help other women with ICP.

“Talking to other people who know how you feel would help, because it is hard to explain.

“It would also be amazing if there was more support for mothers and families. It would also be great if the hospitals in this area could pioneer the training of midwives.

“The charity have created an online ‘i-learn’ course course that is on the RCM website. It would be reassuring to have more commitment from midwives to sign-up.

“I have been speaking to University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS Trust and it has been very positive. We are hoping to set up a meeting.”

More information about the illness can be found on icpsupport.org