The Pruritus Condition Of Pregnant Women In The First Trimester:A Survey Based On Questionnaires

Objective: The present study was aimed to evaluate pruritus condition and health status of pregnant women in the first trimester.Methods: The study was conducted between February 2019 and January 2020 in Shunyi Maternal and Children’s Hospital of Beijing Children’s Hospital.Pregnant women in the first trimester were enrolled in this study.All subjects filled in a general information datasheet and a SRHMS.Subjects who suffered from pruritus additionally filled in a 5-D Pruritus Scale questionnaire.All results were analyzed using the software SPSS 22.0.A p value< 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: A total of 140 pregnant women attended the survey,and 17 subjects suffered from pruritus showing the point prevalence of pruritus be 12.1%.The prevalence was unrelated to the number of previous pregnancies and number of births given.In the pregnant subjects with pruritus,the SRHMS results showed that “social support” score and subtotal score of social health were significantly decreased compared with the subjects without pruritus.The mean score of 5D Pruritus Scale was 9.18±2.430,with the potential highest score of 25.The duration of itching was less than 6 hours per day in all subjects.94.1% subjects rated their degree of pruritus as mild or not present.58.9% reported that itching was completely resolved or better than before,leaving 29.4% unchanged and 11.8% worse.35.3% subjects reported that the pruritus occasionally delayed falling asleep,and 47.1% reported that pruritus did not affect their leisure/social activity,housework/errands activity or work/school activity.Pruritus affected mostly thighs(13.7%),then abdomen,back,lower legs and head/scalp(11.8%).70.6% subjects suffered from pruritus with two or more body parts.Conclusion: The point prevalence of pruritus was 12.1% of pregnant subject in the first trimester.Pruritus affected the health status of “social support” and thus affected the “social health”.Proper managements should be conducted to help them go through the special period more smoothly.