Hey there, gorgeous Mamas-to-be! If you are reading this, chances are you are on a mission to keep your skin smooth, supple, and stretch mark free throughout your pregnancy journey – And I’m here to help! Some mums-to-be wear their stretch marks proudly as a “badge of motherhood” because although baby is not even born yet, they are already leaving their mark on you. While stretch marks in pregnancy are natural for many women, there are plenty of proactive steps you can take to minimise their appearance and keep your skin looking fabulous.
What Are Stretch Marks
Stretch marks are a form of scarring that appear after your skin stretches or shrinks too quickly. They are discoloured, slightly sunken scar-like lines on your skin. Stretch marks in pregnancy generally appear on your abdomen (stomach), thighs, hips, breasts (boobs), upper arms, lower back, and buttocks (butt).
Who is Likely to Get Stretch Marks in Pregnancy
Stretch marks in pregnancy occurs in approximately 50 to 90% of pregnant women. You are more likely to develop stretch marks if you are younger in age, you have a maternal and family history of stretch marks (your mum or sister had stretch marks during pregnancy), you gained weight prior to conception, or you gained weight too quickly during pregnancy.
What Causes Stretch Marks in Pregnancy
As your body expands to accommodate the growth of your baby during pregnancy, your skin rapidly stretches causing the elastin and collagen in your skin to break. Elastin’s main role is to allow your skin to stretch. Collagen’s main role is to provide structure, strength, and support to your skin. As your skin heals, stretch marks appear in areas where elastin breaks.
How Can You Reduce Your Risk of Developing Stretch Marks in Pregnancy
Unfortunately, you can’t do anything that guarantees you won’t develop stretch marks in pregnancy. But a combination of hydration, diet, exercise, and some home remedies may help reduce your risk of developing stretch marks.
Hydration, Hydration, Hydration
One of the best things you can do to minimise your risk of developing stretch marks in pregnancy is to keep your skin well hydrated from the inside out. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water throughout the day to help maintain your skins elasticity and suppleness. Aim for 8 to 12 glasses of water a day. And consider adding hydrating fruits and vegetables. Like watermelon, cucumber, strawberry, lettuce, celery to your diet for an extra boost of hydration.
Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize
In addition to staying hydrated from the inside out, it’s also important to keep your skin moisturised. Invest in a rich, nourishing body lotion or oil. Apply it to your breasts, belly, thighs, and hips at least once or twice a day. Look for products containing ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter, almond oil, coconut oil, or Jojoba oil. Which are known for their hydrating and emollient properties.
Top picks: Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Firming Butter, Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Coconut Hydrate Daily Body Lotion, Desert Essence Jojoba and Sweet Almond Body Oil, Desert Essence Jojoba, Coconut and Chamomile Body Oil.
Manage Weight Gain
While it’s natural and healthy to gain weight during pregnancy, gaining too much weight too quickly can put additional strain on your skin and increase the risk of developing stretch marks. Aim to gain weight gradually and steadily throughout your pregnancy. Follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations for weight gain based on your pre-pregnancy weight. Focus on making healthy food choices. Staying active, and listening to your body’s hunger and fullness cues can help manage weight gain and support overall health and well-being.
Support Your Skin
As your belly grows, it’s important to provide support to your skin to help minimise stretching and straining. Invest in a supportive maternity bra and belly band to help distribute the weight of your growing belly more evenly and provide extra support to your skin.
Topical Stretch Mark Treatments
Research suggests that some topical home remedies may help treat or prevent stretch marks. These include aloe vera gel, hyaluronic acid, and Centella asiatica. Gently massage the product into all likely areas stretch marks develop every day for the best results.
Top pick: Mederma Stretch Marks Therapy
How Can You Fade Stretch Marks
In general, treating stretch marks is difficult. Treatment improves the appearance of stretch marks, but they may not go away completely. Post-delivery, some stretch marks will naturally fade while others remain dark and showy. You can address your stretch marks in your postpartum period in other to yield best results. As older, deep stretch marks may be more challenging to treat. Treatment options include:
Retinol / retinoids
Retinol / retinoids a form of vitamin A full stop they possess anti-aging benefits due to the ability to improve wrinkles, skin texture and skin hydration. Retinoid / retinol creams may require at least six months of regular use before you see noticeable results.
Top picks: Paula’s Choice Retinol Skin Smoothing Body Treatment, Advanced Clinicals Retinol Advanced Firming Cream.
Microdermabrasion
Gentle procedures like microdermabrasion improves skin contour and results in smooth new skin. A study found microdermabrasion to be as effective as daily application of topical 0.05% tretinoin cream in the reduction in the severity of early stretch marks.
Micro needling
Micro needling stimulates the growth of new collagen and elastin fibres to create firmer skin. Most people require between 3 to 6 treatments to see results. Some people see full, complete results within four to six months of treatment.
Laser Skin Resurfacing
Laser therapy uses concentrated lasers to resurface the skin and stimulate collagen growth beneath the skin. The lasers often used for stretch marks, fractional CO2 lasers, Er: Yag lasers, Nd: Yag lasers, cause little to no downtime. Laser therapy is not painful, but you should feel no more than a light sting. You might require between 3 to 6 sessions to see significant improvement in appearance of stretch marks, skin texture, and skin elasticity. Your skin may continue to improve for up to a year, and the improvement may last for several years.
The Takeaway
While stretch marks are a normal and natural part of pregnancy, there are several steps you can take to help prevent them or minimise their appearance. But if stretch marks do make an appearance, remember that they are a beautiful reminder of the incredible journey your body is going through to bring new life into the world, and that’s something to be celebrated. So, don’t stress about stretch marks, focus on taking care of yourself and enjoying every moment of this incredible journey into motherhood.
