Abstract

Pregnancy results in cutaneous changes in more than 90% of women. It may be either physiological, changes in preexisting skin diseases or the development of new pregnancy dermatoses. Better understanding and proper management of these conditions will lead to a good outcome in both the mother and the fetus. This article discusses pregnancy specific dermatoses with emphasis on their clinical features, diagnosis, management and prognosis. Current classification of pregnancy dermatoses includes atopic eruption of pregnancy, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, pemphigoid gestationis and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. While atopic eruption of pregnancy and the polymorphic eruption of pregnancy are without significant adverse effect on the mother and the fetus, pemphigoid gestationis and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy carry fetal as well as maternal risks, thus necessitate careful surveillance.