Causes Of Itchy Boobs, Body During Pregnancy

You thought you’d experienced it all — the nausea and vomiting, the sheer exhaustion accompanied by insomnia, and those late-night cravings for pickles and ice cream.

What’s that? Your boobs itch? Yeah. That’s a thing, too.

There are many reasons why your breasts and nipples may itch during pregnancy. Most are related to skin irritation or circulating hormones. There are times, however, when the itching should prompt a visit to your doctor. Here’s how to tell if it’s serious or just plain annoying.

Hormonal changes

Your hormones go into overdrive during pregnancy, and they particularly rise as you approach your due date.

With all that change comes all sorts of symptoms, including itching skin. In fact, it may be driving you absolutely crazy, but itching is quite commoneven if you don’t have a specific health condition.

Stretching skin

As you and your baby grow, your skin stretches to accommodate your new shape and weight gain. You may even notice little indented streaks or lines called striae gravidarum — stretch marks — on your stomach, breasts, hips, and butt. As they form, you may feel itching or burning.

Stretch marks may be a range of colors from red to pink to blue or even purple. They tend to fade to a lighter color with time and may cover large parts of your body.

Eczema

Pregnancy-induced eczema is the most commonTrusted Source skin condition you can develop during your 9 months as host to your baby. You can develop patches on your breasts and on other parts of your body.

Along with itching, you may have dry skin, red patches, cracked or scaly skin, or small, raised bumps.

Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP)

It’s quite a name, but PUPPP is yet another common reason for itching during pregnancy. With the itch, you may also see small hives or bumps on the skin. They can appear individually or in patches and generally spread from the stomach to the boobs, thighs, and buttocks.

While this condition is super unpleasant, doctors don’t exacty know what causes it. Helpful, right? Here’s how you can identify it and treat it.

Prurigo of pregnancy

Another condition specific to pregnancy is prurigo. It’s the body’s immune system response to all the changes that pregnancy brings about. You may develop little bumps on your chest or other parts of your body. They may itch and look like bug bites.

The number of bumps may be only a few at the start but increase with time. This condition can last for months and even continue after your baby is delivered.

Intertrigo

Intertrigo is just a fancy term for rash under the breast. It’s not a pregnancy-specific condition, either. Instead, you can develop intertrigo anytime there’s moisture, heat, and friction beneath the girls.

With all the breast changes you’ve been seeing, you can see how this scenario might happen, especially if you’re lucky enough to be super pregnant during summer. You may notice a red rash, itching, raw, or weeping skin. As if that wasn’t enough, your skin may even crack or hurt.

When it’s most likely to happen

You can experience breast changes — like swelling, tenderness, and growth — even in very early pregnancy. With all these sensations may come itch even as early as the first few weeks.

Stretch marks can occur at any time, even before or after pregnancy, but one 2017 study showed that some 43 percent of women experience them by 24 weeks. Otherwise, they tend to show up later in the second trimester to early in the third trimester. These marks will likely stick around after pregnancy, but they do fade and lighten.

The same goes with intertrigo and prurigo of pregnancy — they can happen at any time. Eczema tends to develop early, usually sometime in the first two trimestersTrusted Source. PUPPP on the other hand, may not show up until later on in the third trimester.

Your doctor can diagnose what’s going on with your itch by examining the area. But pay close attention to timing and any other symptoms to help with identification.

Are itchy breasts an early pregnancy sign?
They may be. Again, breast changes begin early. Hormonal shifts can also trigger certain conditions. For example, around 50 percentTrusted Source of women who already have eczema see worse symptoms during pregnancy.

If you think you might be pregnant, take a home pregnancy test to find out. Or visit your doctor for a blood test for the most accurate results.