Shocking pictures show horrific extent of Summer Bostock’s ‘allergy,’ which occurred virtually overnight a month-and-a-half before her first child was due
A mum-to-be who erupted in an incredibly painful rash all-over her body at 30 weeks’ pregnant, learned that she was ALLERGIC to her unborn baby.
Shocking pictures show the horrific extent of Summer Bostock’s ‘allergy,’ which occurred virtually overnight a month-and-a-half before her first child, Izaiah, was due.
She is believed to have had an extreme case of the pre-natal condition, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy (PEP) which, while harmless to mum and baby, caused Summer, 29, agonising pain.
Starting on her belly, the painful, red blotches spread up her back and down her legs, soon covering her entire body – only to vanish within hours of Izaiah’s birth.
“The doctor said, ‘You’re basically allergic to your baby,’” recalled full-time mum Summer, from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. “Since having Izaiah, I’ve seen other examples of PEP, but none as bad as mine.”
Summer and IT worker husband Daniel, also 29, were excited when she fell pregnant with Izaiah.
Then, one morning at 30 weeks, following a normal pregnancy, she noticed new lines on her expanding stomach.
Initially unconcerned, she said: “I woke up to heaps of stretch marks. I just thought it was normal – but pretty unfair.
The marks began itching and desperate Summer headed to her GP, who provided a soothing cream and mild steroid.
When that failed to work, she took a bath in porridge oats – knowing that oatmeal has anti-inflammatory properties and has long been used to treat skin conditions, like eczema.
Sadly, Summer’s porridge bath proved fruitless.
“That didn’t do anything either,” she said.
So, four weeks later, she returned to her GP, who gave her more ointment, which again failed to stop the itching.
“It had really flared up,” she said. “It was so, so itchy. I was in agony.”
Her concerned 59-year-old mum, Kym Holwerda, who relocated from Portsmouth, Dorset, to Brisbane, suspected PEP, after researching her daughter’s symptoms online.
Doctors confirmed the diagnosis, but said there was little they could do – advising that the condition would clear up on its own.
“By this point, I couldn’t even have showers, because the touch of the water against my skin was too much,” continued Summer. “I would vomit, the itching was so intense, and at night I couldn’t sleep, I’d just cling to Daniel’s hands.”
By 37 weeks’ pregnant, the pain was so intense she was admitted to Redlands Hospital in Cleveland, Brisbane.
“The medical staff crowded around me, as they hadn’t seen a case so bad before,” she laughed. “They looked after me, but were also fascinated
Four days later, on January 20, 2012, Izaiah – now five – was induced.
He arrived by caesarean, because his heart rate started dropping during labour, although this wasn’t linked to the rash.
“As soon as he arrived, weighing 7lb 60z, the rash started to clear,” said Summer. “By the next day, it had virtually gone. So, yes, I was actually allergic to my boy.”
Despite her negative experience, she fell pregnant again, with another boy.
Although it is believed that PEP is more common in expectant mums carrying boys – as there may be a link to testosterone – she was fine with both her subsequent sons, Elijah, now three, and Josiah, now one.
“I freaked whenever I had stretch marks, though,” she laughed.
And now, full of love for her boys, she cannot believe her eldest caused her such ago
“It’s only when I see the pictures I remember the pain he caused me,” she laughed. “Then it all comes flooding back... never again.”
The full cause of PEP is unknown, but the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) said it was much more common in first pregnancies.
In a paper, updated in January this year, BAD said: “Polymorphic eruption of pregnancy is a relatively common skin disorder that occurs in women of childbearing age. It usually presents in women during their first pregnancy.
“Recurrence in subsequent pregnancies is unusual (less than seven percent of cases) and milder.
