Q&A:
Why have I broken out into a rash at 31 weeks?

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Answered by Margaret Freda Ed.D., R.N., C.H.E.S., F.A.A.N.

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"I've been a professional nurse working with pregnant women and parenting families since 1966," says Margaret Comerford Freda. "Pregnant women and parents need to know as much as possible about their own health and that of their children."

Margaret Comerford Freda, Ed.D., R.N., C.H.E.S., F.A.A.N., is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics &; Gynecology and Women's Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, and also serves as Director of Patient Education Programs for that department. Since 1993, Dr. Freda has been the Consultant for Nursing at the National March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and the Chair of the National March of Dimes Nurse Advisory Council. In addition, Dr. Freda serves as the editor of MCN, The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing.

Dr. Freda received her Master's Degree in Nursing from New York University and her doctorate in Health Education from Columbia University. She has worked in women's health for her entire professional career. Dr. Freda has published 50 research articles in professional journals, and is a frequently invited speaker at nursing and medical conferences. She has written two books: Perinatal Patient Education, published by Lippincott Williams &; Wilkins, and Miscarriage After Infertility, published by Fairview Press, written with her daughter Carrie Semelsberger, who is also a nurse.

Dr. Freda has received several noteworthy awards, such as the Distinguished Professional Service Award and the First National Award for Excellence in Nursing Research from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the Woman of Distinction Award and the Maternal Child Nurse of the Year Award from the March of Dimes, the Patient Care Award for Excellence in Patient Education from the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Research Recognition Award from Molloy College, and several Outstanding Research Paper awards at national conferences. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Council for the March of Dimes, and was selected to serve on the Select Panel of the Centers for Disease Control to advise on prenatal health. Dr. Freda has developed patient education booklets and videotapes that are now distributed nationally.

Dr. Freda has been married for four decades. She has two daughters, two sons-in-law, three grandsons, and a granddaughter.

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Question

I am having my first child. It took me two years of fertility drugs and medication to get this baby, and I would put up with anything to have her. I have had a very uneventful pregnancy minus the normal fatigue, but now at 31 weeks have started to break out in a rash on my arms, ankles, and face and under my breasts. Is it heat rash, and is this normal? It's driving me crazy.

Answer

It's practically impossible to diagnose a rash without seeing it, so I always tell pregnant women that they need to see their health care provider if they have a rash and don't know what it is. Your rash could be many things, from benign heat rash to an allergic rash to a rare type of rash that occurs only during pregnancy, but the very best thing for you to do is to see your health care provider quickly for a diagnosis. It's best not to use any over-the-counter ointments or other treatment for your rash until you see your provider. Some over-the-counter treatments are not to be used in pregnancy, and some can actually make some types of rashes worse.