A mum has told how she suffered an incredibly rare 'allergic reaction' – to her own baby.
Fiona Hooker, 32, developed an itchy rash on her stomach at 31 weeks pregnant, while carrying her son Barney.
Doctors initially offered her steroid creams to combat the itch - but she was left with incredibly painful blisters after giving birth that made it painful to hold her baby.
Fiona, who found herself covered agonising blisters and welts, was stunned to discover that she was 'allergic' to her own BABY.
She first noticed itchy red areas on her stomach while pregnant, which felt like 'nettle stings' but got progressively worse.
After suffering through the remainder of her pregnancy covered in 'unbearable red itchy plaques' on her skin, the 32-year-old says the condition 'exploded' once she gave birth.
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Doctors diagnosed her with the rare autoimmune pregnancy condition Pemphigoid Gestationis - and said a reaction to a gene in her son's DNA probably caused her immune system to attack her own skin.
Fiona said: "The pregnancy from 31 to 35 weeks was quite hard because my stomach was on fire and obviously I was quite big and had a toddler as well.
"When I was in labour I didn't feel a thing, I looked horrendous but it wasn't itchy at all.
"But the postpartum bit when it exploded into blisters on my tummy, chest, arms and legs - everywhere you would hold a baby - that was quite difficult.
"When I was diagnosed I was shocked because it's so rare - I was hoping they'd got it wrong and it was something else.
"But when it started blistering we knew it was that because that's what differentiates it from other pregnancy rashes.
"They think it might be to do with the baby - something in the father's DNA triggers the placenta to start attacking a protein which is also in the skin, so my body was attacking my skin.
"My son must have a gene from his dad that my daughter got me from instead because I didn't have it with my first pregnancy."
The hypnobirthing teacher has now shared shocking photos of her rash-ravaged stomach and blistered limbs in a bid to raise awareness of the rare condition, which only affects one in 50,000 women.
Fiona, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, said: "I got a few tiny, really itchy marks around my belly button that felt like nettle stings.
"I went to the doctors after a few days because it was getting more and more itchy and unbearable.
"They gave me some steroid creams which didn't really touch it and it was getting bigger - my belly was covered in red, itchy plaques.
"It was the third GP I went to see that said it looked like the condition Pemphigoid Gestationis and he referred me to a dermatologist who gave me the strongest steroid cream you can get. It was like I was allergic to my own baby.
"By 35 weeks I took myself to A&E because I couldn't bear it and nothing was touching it and they gave me four days of oral steroids which really helped it calm down.
"But two days before I was due to give birth it started to get unbearable again and 24 hours after I'd given birth it just exploded and turned into blisters.
"If I scratched it, it felt good and temporarily took the itch away but obviously I was removing the blisters and skin so then I was left with raw, really painful skin and the blisters just came back on top of that.
"It hurt a lot to even hold my son so I wasn't really able to enjoy the newborn stage because of it."
Fiona was initially prescribed a steroid cream by her GP and referred to a dermatologist.
But she returned to the dermatologist multiple times with 'unbearable' itchiness and pain and was prescribed stronger steroid creams and some oral steroids.
After giving birth to her son Barney, now seven months, on June 13th, her skin 'exploded' into blisters that covered her stomach, thighs, arms and chest.
A blood test to check Fiona's antibody levels confirmed doctors' suspicions and she was diagnosed with Pemphigoid Gestationis on June 18th.
The dermatologist at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital then started her on a strong dose of oral steroids in a desperate bid to get the excruciating condition under control.
The mum then spent the next six months slowly working her way down the different strengths of oral steroids until she could be weaned off them, just before Christmas.
She says the itchy plaques, blisters and scarring from the extreme reaction have finally subsided, although she still occasionally has to use steroid creams and may suffer minor flare-ups for the rest of her life.
Knowing sufferers of the condition are likely to develop it again in further pregnancies, the hypnobirthing teacher and her husband Warren Hooker, 35, have decided to not have any more children.
Fiona said: "Because I'm quite recently off the steroids, every now and again I get a bit itchy and have to use a bit of steroid cream, so I think my body is still getting over it.
"A lot of people have to have immunosuppressive therapies to get off the steroids and get the condition under control so I'm quite lucky.
"Once it's triggered it's made worse by certain hormones - oestrogen mainly - so each menstrual cycle I may get a little flare but not enough to need any steroids.
"So I may have some symptoms of it forever but not as bad as before.
"It's put me off being pregnant again especially because the research says it will come on earlier and worse and I don't think I could do that again even with steroids."
