What should you know about itching of legs during pregnancy?

As skin stretches, dryness and friction can cause itch on the legs. Heat, wool, fragranced products, shaving, and new laundry products may add irritation or trigger contact dermatitis. Eczema can flare with itchy, dry, inflamed patches, while hives cause raised areas that come and go. A pregnancy-related liver condition can cause significant itch without an obvious rash and may involve the palms or soles, often more strongly at night. This cannot be diagnosed from itch alone and needs maternity assessment.

Note when the itch began, whether there is a rash, whether the palms or soles are involved, and whether you have dark urine, pale stools, yellowing skin or eyes, nausea, or unusual tiredness. Tell your midwife or obstetric team about new or worsening symptoms.

Use lukewarm rather than hot water, a fragrance-free cleanser, and a plain moisturiser after bathing while the skin is still slightly damp. Wear loose cotton clothing, keep the room cool, and use a cool compress instead of scratching. Avoid starting oral medicines, herbal products, or medicated creams in pregnancy without checking with your maternity team or pharmacist. They may arrange blood tests when the pattern suggests a pregnancy-related cause.

If a rash persists or the itch affects sleep, ask for an examination. [Contact Dermatitis](/conditions/contact-dermatitis/) and [Atopic Dermatitis](/conditions/atopic-dermatitis/) describe skin causes that can resemble ordinary pregnancy dryness.

Contact your maternity team promptly for new intense itch, itch without a rash, itch on the palms or soles, night-time worsening, or any yellowing of the skin or eyes. Seek urgent advice for a widespread blistering rash, facial swelling, breathing difficulty, severe abdominal pain, or feeling seriously unwell. Follow your maternity service's instructions if baby movements change.

Ask whether you need liver blood tests or repeat testing, which moisturisers and medicines are suitable in pregnancy, whether the rash looks like eczema or contact dermatitis, how to protect sleep, and which symptoms require same-day contact.