[Severe jaundice during pregnancy].

Severe jaundice during pregnancy is exceptional; it rapidly compromises the maternal and fetal prognosis. The series of seven cases presented in this study (3 acute viral hepatitis, 3 acute steatosis of pregnancy, one uncertain diagnosis), demonstrates the rapid evolution and the major repercussion on the pregnancy (5 premature deliveries, four fetal deaths in 8 children). No maternal death occurred but the complications were practically constant (4 severe haemorrhages, 3 acute renal insufficiencies, one encephalopathy with convulsions).