Pathogeneses of preterm labor and fetal intrauterine distress in women with intrahepatic cholestasis

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a disease which usually occurs in the third trimester of pregnancy and is characterized primarily by pruritus, biochemical disturbances in liver enzymes, and less jaundice. Although intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a benign disease for the mother, it can cause many fetal complications in perinatal periol, such as meconium stained amniotic fluid, fetal intrauterine distress, spontaneous preterm labor, and perineonatal death. In this article, we summarized the current status of study on the pathogenesis of spontaneous preterm labor and fetal intrauterine distress in ICP.