Pregnancy Stretch Marks | 7 Facts

Stretch marks occur in up to 90% of women at any point in their lives.

They’re most commonly associated with pregnancy because that’s the time of life when a woman’s skin is doing the most stretching it’ll ever do.

You probably want to avoid or prevent stretch marks, and minimize their appearance if they do show up.

Read on for 7 facts about pregnancy stretch marks and how to prevent stretch marks.

You’ll also find 7 extra tips about what treatments are available.

#1: Why do stretch marks appear?

The skin is a very interesting organ. It acts as a barrier and protects us from harmful things. It also adapts to changes that happen inside the body.

Normally our skin is quite elastic, thanks to collagen and elastin. These proteins break, however, when the skin stretches or shrinks very quickly.

As the skin heals, this causes stretch marks to appear, like scars do.

Striae distensae is the Latin name given to stretch marks in general. Striae gravidarum refers specifically to stretch marks during pregnancy.

#2: Who is more prone to stretch marks in pregnancy?

For women, puberty and pregnancy are the two life stages when stretch marks are more likely to appear.

During puberty, a girl’s body develops very quickly and fat is redistributed to the hips, buttocks, breasts, thighs, and legs.

Pregnancy weight gain causes the breasts and belly to experience fast growth. These are the areas where women are more likely to get stretch marks.

Stretch marks can also appear after weight loss or a sudden body change, like the one your belly experiences right after childbirth.

Genetics plays a big role in deciding who is more likely to get stretch marks. Whether or not you are more prone to stretch marks really depends on the status of your elastic fibers, cell turnover, and your collagen growth.

Your skin tone might also influence the likelihood of developing stretch marks. Darker-skinned women tend to develop more stretch marks than lighter-skinned women.

If your mother developed stretch marks when she was pregnant with you, it’s likely her skin is naturally low in elasticity. She might have passed that genetic marker on to you.

#3: When to expect stretch marks during pregnancy

Stretch marks can appear at any time during pregnancy. However, they’re more likely to appear from the sixth month onwards. This is when the skin in your belly really starts to stretch to accommodate your growing baby.

Stay vigilant. Even if not a single stretch mark has appeared by the sixth or seventh month, it can still happen as your skin keeps stretching.

#4: Stretch marks after pregnancy

Most women are told their stretch marks will gradually fade or disappear after birth. This isn’t always true. Stretch marks can also appear after birth, as your body changes and adjusts to your baby’s development and needs.

Your breasts will experience many fast and frequent size variations in the first weeks after birth, regardless of whether or not you decide to breastfeed.

Remember, some stretch marks might appear on your tummy right after pregnancy.

Your skin has been considerably stretched by weight gain, baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid. After birth, it will quickly readapt to your new body size, making it easier for marks to appear.

#5: How long does it take for stretch marks to fade?

Stretch marks never really go away or disappear completely. Over time, you’ll notice they will fade from deep red-purple streaks to a silvery or white color. They can also become smoother in appearance.

If you develop stretch marks while you’re pregnant, they will probably be hard to see by 6-12 months after birth.

#6: Pregnancy stretch marks removal

You might have no problems with the stretch marks you gained during pregnancy.

On the other hand, you might want to lessen their visibility.

If so, there are several treatment options for you:

• Self-tanning lotion. Although a natural tan will make stretch marks more obvious, a self-tanner will actually paint over them, making them less noticeable. Patch test first, to see how it looks
• Retin-A-based treatment. Retinol helps to slowly and steadily rebuild the collagen in your skin. Be careful not to use creams with a type of retinol called tretinoin during pregnancy or breastfeeding, as it is harmful to your baby
• Laser therapy. Although it won’t make stretch marks disappear, laser therapy is another option, to help make them less noticeable. The success of the treatment depends on how visible and how old the marks are.

#7: Is it bad to scratch stretch marks while pregnant?

As the skin stretches it can become quite itchy.

Try to avoid the urge to scratch and use a lotion or light oil instead. Your skin is already quite fragile and you could easily cause tears that might lead to infections.

Make sure you read Early Pregnancy Itching – 9 Types And Their Causes for other causes of itchy skin in pregnancy.

How can I treat stretch marks during pregnancy?

You can’t do much to stop your belly from stretching as your baby grows, and you certainly can’t change the genes you inherited from your mother.

You can, however, support your skin in a number of ways:

#1: Stay hydrated

Water keeps all our cells healthy, whether they are proteins, hormones, or enzymes. Staying hydrated will definitely contribute to your skin’s health. Make sure you drink plenty of water during pregnancy.

#2: Eat a healthy diet

A healthy diet rich in vitamin C, A, and D, and zinc is essential to keep your skin healthy and elastic.

Foods high in these nutrients include:

• Avocados
• Walnuts and sunflower seeds
• Sweet potatoes
• Fatty fish, such as salmon
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Red or yellow bell peppers.

Healthy eating will not only help you maintain a healthy skin but will also help you gain weight appropriately as the pregnancy advances.

You might already know how much weight gain can influence the development of stretch marks. Rapid weight gain isn’t ideal if you want to reduce stretch marks and the chances of them appearing.

Our article, What Foods Can You Eat During Pregnancy? has more ideas for healthy food choices.

Are You Getting BellyBelly’s Pregnancy Week By Week Emails?
We think they’re the best on the Internet!
Click to get the FREE weekly updates our fans are RAVING about.

#3: Exercise frequently

Exercise is good for people in general and for pregnant women in particular.

Keeping a good muscle tone will also prevent the breakage of collagen fibers in your skin. It also improves blood circulation, which improves your skin’s overall health.

Do you need more reasons?

Exercise During Pregnancy Could Shorten Your Labor might convince you to include more activity in your day.

#4: Hydrate your skin

Hydrating your skin isn’t just about drinking plenty of water. You can also help hydrate it from the outside.

Applying body lotion regularly and frequently not only helps prevent skin dryness but also helps improve its elasticity.

Natural creams and oils, such as coconut oil or cocoa butter, will always be your best options.

If you choose a commercial lotion, make sure it doesn’t contain petrochemicals and it’s suitable to use during pregnancy.

You can always ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you aren’t sure.

#5: Massage the areas prone to pregnancy stretch marks

As you’re applying a few drops of stretch mark oil to your body, make sure you massage your breasts, belly, hips and thighs.

Massage can improve your blood circulation and stimulate cells called fibroblasts. These cells help to produce collagen and elastin, the proteins that keep your skin elastic.

You can also massage your skin with other products like shea butter, coconut oil or any other bio-oil of your preference.

What about a massage in good company? Being massaged by your partner is one of the best parenting tips we can offer. It will not only encourage parents-to-be to spend meaningful time together but it will also help the baby’s dad bond with his new baby.

#6: Avoid sun exposure

A little bit of sunshine on your bare skin is very good for getting vitamin D; this vitamin is necessary for healthy immune function and bone health.

Research has suggested low levels of vitamin D could increase the chance of stretch marks.

On the other hand, too much sunlight can make stretch marks worse by damaging the collagen in your skin.

It’s best to keep the areas prone to stretch marks under wraps if you’re planning to sit in the sun.

#7: See a dermatologist

Dermatologists are skin specialists and can give you more information about your skin.

They can help you find out what would be the most appropriate products to help you prevent, treat or eliminate stretch marks.

What is best to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy?

Leaving genetics aside there are several things we can do to prevent, or at least minimize, the number of those feared purplish streaks that appear when our skin stretches.

If we can’t avoid them, taking certain precautions might at least help improve the appearance of stretch marks.

Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, avoiding sugars as much as possible, staying hydrated and, at the same time, applying topical treatments like stretch mark creams to the most vulnerable areas of your pregnant body will minimize the appearance of stretch marks.

Which week do stretch marks usually appear in pregnancy?

As we’ve already discussed, when you might develop stretch marks during pregnancy depends on different factors. Giving you a landmark week will be unhelpful and quite unreliable, as each woman’s body is different.

The further you get into your pregnancy, the more the skin stretches and the more likely you are to develop pinkish stretch marks. Having said that, some women might get to 42 weeks without a single stretch mark and some women who’ve been keeping their skin hydrated, applying stretch mark creams, taking vitamin E and hyaluronic acid since the beginning of pregnancy, might develop stretch marks as soon as their belly bump starts to grow in the early stages of the second trimester of pregnancy.

Starting from the first trimester of pregnancy, try to improve elasticity by keeping your skin moisturized. Stimulate collagen production by regularly using appropriate creams and butters to massage the areas, and the surrounding skin, that are more prone to stretching during pregnancy.

Keep eating a balanced diet and enjoy all the good this pregnancy brings to you. Understand and accept that genetics plays a significant role in the development of stretch marks, which makes preventing stretch marks during pregnancy sometimes difficult for certain pregnant women, especially darker-skinned women or those genetically predisposed to developing stretch marks.