Preventing Stretch Marks During Pregnancy

Every mom-to-be wants to enjoy her pregnancy. She looks forward to a happy, healthy birth. There are naturally going to be some physical aspects of pregnancy that may not be so pleasant to experience and stretch marks is one of those things that most pregnant moms-to-be would like to avoid. Unfortunately 75 to 90% of all pregnant women receive stretch marks during the pregnancy.

Stretch marks usually start to appear around the sixth or seventh month of pregnancy. This is when the mom-to-be starts to notice more weight gain. Stretch marks can appear on the upper thigh, buttocks, breasts, and also on the arms and lower back. Whether you get them or not and how many you get will be determined by how much weight you gain, how rapidly you gain the weight, your genetic history, and whether or not you make any effort to prevent stretch marks before they start to form.

The time to prevent stretch marks is before the abdomen starts to expand and to continue using preventative methods all the way through the pregnancy. Speak with your obstetrician or midwife early on in the pregnancy about methods and procedures you can follow to lessen your chances for receiving stretch marks.

There are some guidelines you can follow to help minimize the stretch marks you receive.

1.Eat a well-balanced, nutritious diet that will keep you at a 25 to 35 pound weight gain during the pregnancy. A controlled and steady weight gain will help your skin to stretch at a steady pace without any unexpected bursts.

2.Increase circulation in areas that you already have stretch marks or think you may be prone to getting stretch marks by massaging that area with a body brush or washcloth.

3.Drink plenty of water. Your healthcare provider can give you guidelines on how much you should drink each day. A normal amount would be 8 - 8 oz. glasses of water daily. Water keeps your skin supple and elastic so it stretches more easily as you expand in the last few months of pregnancy.

4.Take the prenatal vitamins prescribed by your obstetrician or healthcare provider. Good nutritional supplementation is critical to the overall health of the unborn baby and the mom-to-be. Especially important to the largest organ of your body - your skin.

5.Moisturize your skin liberally every day during the pregnancy. There are many oils, lotions and creams on the market. Continue moisturizing after the baby is born until you reach your pre-pregnancy weight. These moisturizers are formulated to keep skin supple and elastic and to support the dermis layer of skin (where stretch marks originate).