Research progress of relationship between intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and perinatal infants

Abstract

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disease mainly during the third trimester.It could be characterized by maternal pruritus and raised serum total bile acids (TBA). The ICP incidences in some areas of China are much higher than that of Europe and North America.The pregnant women with ICP usually have good prognosis.But for perinatal infants, ICP is a potential harm, it can course preterm delivery, fetal distress, neonatal asphyxia, meconium-stained amniotic fluid and stillbirth and so on. At present, most scholars believe that the high level of serum TBA in pregnant woman with ICP have strong relationship with adverse perinatal outcomes, but the mechanism has not been fully elucidated. In this paper, the relationships between ICP and perinatal outcomes are summarized. Key words: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy; Total bile acids; Perinatal infant