When Christina DePino shared a Facebook post about her itching belly, she never knew it would help save her unborn baby's life. And now she's warning others.
"I would like to urge pregnant women who are suffering from severe itching to be their own advocate," DePino told TODAY. "Know the signs and symptoms and then contact your doctor. Don't ignore the itch, a simple blood test could save your baby's life."
When she first started itching, she had no idea she had anything wrong with her.
"What had started as an all-over itch started to become more pronounced on the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet," DePino said. "It got to the point that I could no longer sleep at night ... my arms and legs were bleeding from all the scratching."
After complaining about her annoying itch on Facebook, a number of friends urged her to go to the doctor in case she had a condition called cholestasis.
The hormonal condition affects a pregnant woman's gallbladder and if undetected can cause babies to die in utero. Women with the condition may also experience fatty stools and have a Vitamin K deficiency.
It's more likely in women over the age of 35 years old or who are pregnant with more than one baby.
The Michigan mum made an appointment to see her doctor, who diagnosed her with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. She was induced at 37 weeks to lower the detrimental risks to her unborn daughter.
"As soon as I was holding my beautiful baby girl in my arms, all I could think was, 'What if?'" she said.
"What if I had not complained on Facebook? What if no one had told me? All I could think was that I had to let other women know. I didn't want any of them to wonder what had happened to their perfectly healthy baby."
She penned a warning on her Facebook page to other mums experiencing similar symptoms, which has since been shared over 25,000 times - and also thanked her friends for their advice.
"If you're pregnant & your itching REALLY bad, don't ignore it!!" she said.
"Started having itching a few weeks ago, (it was keeping me up at night) thanks to a little Facebook complaining & the urging of Jennifer, Britney & Monica, I got the itch checked out & found out I had pregnancy Cholestasis, which is basically harmless for me – except the crazy itching – But could have caused a still born after 37 weeks!! Thanks guys for giving some amazing advice which may have just saved our precious girl's life!"
Read more about cholestasis in pregnancy, including symptoms and treatment.