As I was approaching graduation from homeopathy school, people would ask if there was a population I wanted to serve in my practice - children, chronic illness, acute care, women's health? In reality, I work with men, women and children in my practice, but I've always had a desire to support mothers.

Because motherhood is where my journey to homeopathy began.

It is where I fell apart, rebuilt and eventually found the path that led me here.

I wanted to share a part of my journey that shaped everything - my daughter's birth, my postpartum experience, and the things that happened that changed the course of our lives.

Becoming a Mother

My daughter is eight at the time I'm writing this. She's a sweet and bright, curious, tender-hearted girl. The child who made me a mother. The child I am endlessly grateful is here.

But the road to her birth was not simple and neither has my healing journey been.

Before getting pregnant, I was told my Anti-Müllerian Hormone was very low (an indicator of egg reserve) and that conceiving might be difficult. I was offered the familiar litany of warnings given to mothers of "advanced maternal age."

But I wasn't willing to accept the story of limitation.

And I am so thankful every day that we did conceive her.

My first OBGYN wasn’t a good fit. Her language was fear-based and heavy on age, risk, and worst-case scenarios. Each appointment left me anxious, waiting for the other shoe to drop, even when every test came back normal.

So I changed providers more than halfway through my pregnancy.

I trusted my intuition.

And that decision would later become one of the best decisions I could have made, as my new provider was incredible.

Trigger Warning: Infant Loss

When I was 35 weeks pregnant, I listened to a podcast that changed me - in a way I wasn't prepared for.

A mother I followed online shared the story of losing her newborn baby, after birth.

I had known she experienced infant loss, but hearing the details while I was so close to my own due date felt like the ground disappeared beneath me.

I fell to my knees.

I sobbed intensely for someone I didn't really know.

I felt the weight of her grief in my own body.

And although I didn't understand it then, that moment planted something deep inside me - a fear, a hypervigilance, a crippling anxiety that would follow me into postpartum.

It also introduced me to something I had never heard of: Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP).

Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP) is a rare liver condition that typically appears in the third trimester and affects roughly 1 in 100 pregnancies in the United States (RCOG, 2022). It occurs when bile flow becomes reduced, causing bile acids to build up in the bloodstream. Elevated bile acids - particularly at higher levels - are associated with an increased risk of stillbirth, which is why close monitoring and early delivery (around 37 weeks) are recommended.

When the Itching Began

A short time after hearing the podcast, I started feeling an odd itch on my palms and the soles of my feet. Nothing dramatic at first,just a whisper that something was off and it progressively got worse.

I remembered the podcast and the symptoms of itching on the palms and soles this mother had experienced.

And because she had shared this information, I asked my OBGYN to check my bile acids.

He told me it was rare and unlikely, but he was supportive and ordered the test anyway. The results took a full week to return. By then, the itching had intensified, and my daughter had settled firmly into a breech position. We had tried to turn her without success.

When the labs finally came back, my bile acids were elevated.

Diagnosis: Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy.

I was 38.5 weeks pregnant.

My doctor told us to go home, pack a bag, and meet him at the hospital that evening. Just a few hours later, our daughter was born by c-section with a tight cord around her neck.

I often think about that timeline - the podcast, the intuition that told me to ask for tests, the decision to switch providers, the small inner voice that kept nudging until I listened.

I still think of the mother in that story and her devastating loss.
I am grateful she shared her experience - both for her healing and, unknowingly, for the safety of my family.

Not every itch in pregnancy is ICP, and even with ICP, with careful monitoring, it can be managed safely.
But it is always best to ask if something doesn’t feel right.

Postpartum: The Part I Never Expected

The time after the birth of my first baby was one the hardest seasons of my life.

I was depleted.

I couldn't sleep.

I had intense pain and numbness from my neck down to both arms immediately after birth.

I couldn't breastfeed - a story for another day.

I was overwhelmed with anxiety I didn't recognize in myself.

I spent the first year of my daughter's life in a state of hypervigilance, convinced that if I didn't do everything "right," something awful would happen. Fear, paired with an impossible need to control the uncontrollable, showed itself as postpartum rage.

It took me several years into my healing journey, before I even made any connection how deeply hearing another mother's loss story in pregnancy, had shaped my nervous system.

Fear had settled into my cells.

My body never got the signal that we were safe, and I carried that with me for a long time.

And like so many postpartum mothers, I didn't ask for help, I didn't really recognize how hard I had been struggling until well after my daughter's first birthday.

How This Led Me to Homeopathy

My own healing didn't happen all at once.

It was slow and layered and a bit of a bumpy ride, emotionally, physically and mentally.

Homeopathy entered my life as a gentle lifeline, helping me to come back to myself.

In my final year of homeopathy school, I wrote my final research proposal on the use of homeopathic organ-supportive remedies for Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy. Not with an intention to replace medical care, but to show that homeopathy has a powerful role to play in liver health, bile regulation, hormonal balance, and the emotional terrain of pregnancy.

Homeopathy for ICP: A Gentle Complement

If you are navigating ICP now, please know:

You do not need to panic.

You are not powerless.

Medical monitoring is essential - but so is supporting your body, your nervous system, and your emotional well-being.

Homeopathic remedies that may support liver and bile function include:

• Chelidonium majus

• Carduus marianus

• Hepatine (liver sarcode)

• Sepia

• Lycopodium

• Dolichos pruriens

• Taraxacum

• Berberis vulgaris

• Nux vomica

• Natrum sulph

These are not one-size-fits-all remedies.

The best results come from careful case taking and understanding your unique symptom picture, not just your diagnosis.

Every woman with a diagnosis of ICP deserves support that honors both safety and comfort, both the medical realities and the emotional experience of carrying a baby while dealing with this condition.

If This Resonates

If you're currently pregnant, postpartum, or navigating symptoms that feel overwhelming, I'd be honored to support you.

• Book a discovery call - let's explore gentle, personalized homeopathic support.

• Download my free Birth Recovery Guide - created for mothers who want to heal in postpartum with the support of homeopathy.

And if you’d like to go deeper into ICP support, remedy discussion, and nurturing your liver and gallbladder, please reach out.

Your story matters.

Your intuition matters.

And you deserve care that honors your journey.

Thanks for reading my story,

Leah Bugg, CHP