What to do if pregnant women have high glycocholic acid

Women must pay special attention when they are pregnant and not overwork themselves. When pregnant, women should have regular prenatal checkups, which can help determine the health of the baby. The health of a pregnant woman affects the health of her fetus. Sometimes, when pregnant women have prenatal checkups, the examination report often shows that their glycocholic acid levels are high. However, we don’t understand the reasons for high glycocholic acid levels and how to solve the problem. Let’s talk about it below.

Solutions for high glycocholic acid in pregnant women:

1. The main component of the serum of pregnant women in the late pregnancy is bile acid. When the progesterone level in the blood of pregnant women increases, it reduces the tension of the body's smooth muscle, causing bile stasis and leading to impaired excretion of glycocholic acid by the liver. Therefore, the serum glycocholic acid value increases. If the glycocholic acid level rises seriously during pregnancy, it will cause certain harm to the fetus, leading to fetal hypoxia and various complications, and easily causing premature birth. If this level is high, it will not affect the pregnant woman herself, but if you want to give birth naturally, it may cause fetal asphyxia during delivery.

2. High levels of glycocholic acid in pregnant women can induce changes in the hepatobiliary system and may cause intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. Such patients can easily cause increased rates of amniotic fluid contamination, premature birth, fetal intrauterine distress and cesarean section. If the increase in glycocholic acid in pregnant women reaches more than 10 times the normal value, the risk will be even higher, and severe cases will cause fetal intrauterine distress, premature birth, etc. For patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, foreign reports show that the incidence of premature birth is 20% to 60%, the incidence of fetal distress is 20% to 30%, and the perinatal mortality rate is 1% to 3%. Therefore, early detection is the key. Early detection can help make the right choice in time. If the pregnancy does not exceed 40 weeks, termination of pregnancy can be considered to reduce perinatal mortality.

3. It is recommended to rest in bed, lie on the left side, and give oxygen, hypertonic glucose, vitamins and energy to protect the liver and improve the fetus's tolerance to hypoxia. Commonly used drugs include phenobarbital, dexamethasone, cholestyramine, etc.; NST tests are performed every week starting from the 34th week of pregnancy, and fetal biophysical assessment is performed when necessary. If the pregnant woman has bleeding and jaundice, and the gestational age has reached 36 weeks, the pregnancy should be terminated in time, generally by cesarean section.