Call the Midwife star Helen George has candidly opened up about having cholestasis while pregnant with her daughter Lark.
The actress, 37, suffered from the liver disease, which affects one in every 140 pregnant women in the UK and hinders the normal flow of bile that goes to their gallbladder.
She shared her personal experience with the disease on Instagram following Sunday night's highly emotional edition of Call The Midwife.
She uploaded an image of her shadow during her pregnancy to her 221k followers and explained how she was diagnosed with the condition following the birth of her first daughter Wren, who is now four years old.
Helen, who plays Trixie Franklin in the hit period drama, told her fans how it then made her second pregnancy extremely "uncomfortable and painful".
She gave birth to her second child with partner Jack Ashton, 35, last November and said: "After last night’s final episode of Call the Midwife, it seemed the right time to talk about my experience with Cholestasis in Pregnancy.
"In 2017 when I gave birth to our daughter Wren, I was diagnosed with this condition. I knew there was a high chance that I would suffer again with my second pregnancy, but I was under the most incredible specialists/ doctors/midwives/health worker at Guys and St Thomas’s. So I felt safe."
She went on to describe feeling itchy a lot earlier during her second pregnancy, saying it was "infuriating".
"I tried everything, creams, baths all of it and nothing would work," she continued. "I would scratch all day and all night, normally on my hands, shoulders, feet but that quickly increased to just bl**y everywhere. I was put onto medication (Urso) at around 30 wks."
Thankfully, the medication stabilised her bile acids and although they were high, she revealed it helped keep baby Lark safe, even if it didn't stop her itching.
Helen had to have an emergency C section after having contractions earlier than usual and described the "overwhelming" relief when she heard her baby's first cry after months of anxiety and fear.
She concluded: "I was lucky, but more so, well looked after. ICP support were there every step of the way to help me with whatever questions I had.
"Please, if you are worried you may have Cholestasis in Pregnancy or have been diagnosed and need any advice, do reach out to them."
