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Ashley Sicher had an invisible itch. It had begun in early spring 2017, in the third trimester of her first pregnancy. During the day, the itch was noticeable, but concentrated on her palms and feet. At night, the itch became unbearable, spreading up her arms and torso. She furiously scratched at the subterranean itch with the bristles of a hairbrush, until she broke the skin.

Sicher had no rash, and her obstetrician at the time assured her that itching was a normal symptom of pregnancy. Yet this didn’t feel like a normal itch. It was a penetrating, psychologically infuriating itch.

“It’s like you’re being burned under your skin,” Sicher said, “with bee stings on top.”

Early one morning, 34 weeks pregnant and at a breaking point from scratching all night, she Googled her symptoms. What she found changed everything. She woke her husband, in tears.

“The baby’s going to die,” she said.