My name is Kristen Kennedy and I am an Oregon ambassador for ICP Care. I am a wife and mom to three lovely girls, with my littlest being my itchy baby. I had never heard of Intrahepatic Cholestasis until my diagnosis in 2017.

I distinctly recall an unfamiliar itching and feeling during my 30th week of pregnancy. I had two previously difficult pregnancies/deliveries, so I was cautious about my experienced symptoms. I called my provider describing my itching of hands and feet, in which I was told it is normal during the third trimester of pregnancy. I was miserable for the next three days, until I finally reached out again, explaining that the itching was increasingly worse, disrupting my sleep and workday. I was told to get evaluated by my local hospital at Labor and Delivery. They took vitals and conducted an ultrasound, which all were assessed as normal. My nurse could see the scratch marks on my arms, wrists and legs, reporting to the doctor on call. They then proceeded to do blood work, in which they informed me that this type of blood work took a week for results as it could not be done locally. They informed me of the possibility of ICP but had little information on the condition. I waited for what seemed like the longest week of my life (and miserable, due to the itching). When the call came in, it was the actual on-call doctor that reached out, who stated I did in fact have ICP and needed to follow up with my OB to formulate a plan.

My OB was one of the most established in the area. When I went to my appointment with him, he informed me he had never seen this condition but had heard of it at a conference in which he attended. We literally looked over the notes he took and developed a plan together. I started oral medication, weekly ultrasound monitoring and two weekly blood draws. After a few weeks of this rigorous schedule and bile acid numbers increasing with each draw, I started feeling very unwell. I was sent over immediately for induction due to my high levels and new development of preeclampsia. After arriving at the hospital and settling in, my provider came to check on my progress, in which everything seemed stable. After my evaluation, I got out of my bed and all the bells started going. My daughters heart rate was rapidly dropping and I was suddenly surrounded with nurses, along with my provider who took me to the OR within minutes. My daughter was delivered by c-section, discovering a bad placenta, the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice, preeclampsia, and ICP all working against us, despite the several complications during the procedure all seemed to be okay. They brought my daughter around so I could see her and then the room went silent. She had stopped breathing, my heart sank. They rushed her to the NICU; it was one of the hardest moments I have ever experienced as a parent. The NICU nurses and doctors were able to get my child breathing again and informed us she may not make it through the night. After such an intense entrance into the world our daughter, who was projected to be in the NICU for at least 6 weeks, rocked it and broke out of there in two.

Our itchy babe is now nine years old, and you would never know she had such a story! We have had a few hiccups along the way with the questioning of certain conditions, which had me questioning if any of it is related to the ICP. I myself have had several surgeries and procedures after my diagnosis, which has me wondering about the relation as well. I think that is why I am so passionate about the research into the aftereffects along with bringing awareness to this condition. Knowledge is power and my hope is to share researched information to help bring awareness to ICP, to save lives and prevent traumatic experiences as well.