My name is Hannah and I live in Columbus, Ohio. My back started itching when I was about 20 weeks pregnant with my second kiddo, a boy we’d name Asher, in October 2020. A whole lot of intuition and some quick googling led me to guess ICP and I quickly had my levels tested, and my guess was right. The itch quickly got worse and became quite crippling. It was hard to sleep, wear clothes other than a baggy dress, and get on with work and taking care of our family. My husband also got Covid while I was in the height of my itchiness and we had to quarantine from him. It was awful.

We planned to induce at 37 weeks, but when I was 29 weeks along, my water broke. My bile acid levels were off the charts and I’d seen so many specialists already. They weren’t convinced it was ICP because my levels were unlike any they’d seen. I was terrified that we might lose our son. I spent a few days in the hospital trying to keep him in, but he knew it was time. I was having an MRI done on my liver when I felt contractions. Asher was born two hours later. He was quickly brought to me and then just swiftly taken to the NICU. We spent 2.5 months in the NICU (the nurses are angels) but Asher was healthy and recovered well from BPD, which often occurs in preemies. I still itched badly until about 3 months postpartum.

We took him home almost exactly a year ago. He’s doing great, and my levels are back to normal. I’m so thankful for ICP Care and this amazing community for all of the resources and support!