Cholestasis - Pregnancy .

With cholestasis, the flow of bile fluid is impaired at some point between the liver cells and the duodenum which is the first segment of the small intestine. When bile flow is stopped, the pigment bilirubin (a waste product formed when old or damaged red blood cells are broken down) escapes into the bloodstream and accumulates. Liver disease in pregnancy encompasses a spectrum of diseases encountered during the gestation and the postpartum period that result in abnormal liver function tests, hepatobiliary dysfunction, or even both. Several disorders contribute to liver disease in pregnancy. These include diseases induced by the pregnancy such as the acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (IHCP), diseases that existed before pregnancy that could potentially blaze out during pregnancy such as the autoimmune hepatitis and Wilson’s disease, and diseases that are not related to the pregnancy but that could affect the pregnant woman at any time during the gestation such as viral hepatitis.

Author(s): Fardin Raihan

Abstract | Full-Text | PDF

Share This Article