FAQ

Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP) is a liver condition that occurs in late pregnancy. It impairs the flow of bile, causing bile acids to build up in the blood. The most common symptom is severe itching, especially on the hands and feet.

Dietary needs vary by individual and severity. Many doctors recommend staying under 30-40 grams of fat per day total, and some suggest even less. Always consult your maternal-fetal medicine specialist for your specific target.

This is one of the most useful things we learned. Some dietitians suggested saving most of the daily fat allowance for one big meal. My wife tried it once and felt miserable, exhausted and itchy for the rest of the day. After that we spread the fat out evenly instead. She felt best keeping it under about 5 grams per sitting and around 25 grams for the day, while her doctor's limit was 35 grams. Everyone is different, so this is what worked for her and not medical advice. Your own target and how you divide it up is a conversation for your medical team.

Unfortunately, your liver doesn't distinguish between "healthy" fats (like avocados or olive oil) and other fats when processing bile. A gram of fat is a gram of fat, which is why we strictly count total fat, not just saturated fat.

High-fat dairy (cheese, butter, whole milk), fatty meats, oils, nuts, avocados, and most processed or fried foods. It sounds restrictive, but there are many creative ways to substitute these ingredients, which is what this site is all about.

We built this site because of ICP, but low fat is low fat. If you're eating low fat for gallbladder issues, pancreatitis, weight management, or just because your doctor told you to, these recipes work for you too. The fat counts are the same regardless of why you're counting.

We're parents who went through an ICP pregnancy. After struggling to find low-fat recipes that actually tasted good, we started adapting our favorites and sharing them here.

Every recipe, article, and resource on this site is free. No paywalls, no premium tiers, no gated content. Some content is exclusive to signing up for the newsletter, which is also free, and you can unsubscribe at any time. We do use affiliate links for products we genuinely use and recommend, which means we may earn a small commission if you buy something through one of our links. It doesn't cost you anything extra.

We'd love to, but we don't have the skills or the time. We have two kids under three and food photography isn't in the cards right now. The illustrations are a compromise we're happy with. We assume you already know what pancakes look like!