How To Prevent Stretch Marks

Stretch marks often appear during the later stages of pregnancy. In fact, almost 90% of women experience it during their sixth and seventh months. As the baby grows, so does your tummy, causing stretch marks to appear on your stomach. In some cases, they have also been observed on buttocks, thighs and breasts. Initially, the marks are reddish and purplish, but after pregnancy, they fade and turn to a whitish tinge. 

In the beginning, stretch marks are just thin red lines that are formed parallel to each other in the middle layers of your skin. During pregnancy, your skin stretches in just a short period and can become really thin. Stretch marks are quite common, but there are still some people who do not experience them. Probably the primary cause behind their appearance is excessive production of corticosteroid, which reduces the collagen levels in the skin. A decrease in the quantity of collagen can lead to the formation of stretch marks.

Though the marks do fade with time and are not easily noticed, a little bit of care from just your initial days of pregnancy can keep your body in a healthy state. With the following tips, you can easily survive your nine months of pregnancy and experience the least amount of stretch marks. 

Massage Your Skin Regularly

During pregnancy, you should massage your skin on a daily basis with a massage glove or a moisturizing cream. This improves circulation and encourages growth of new tissue. 

Eat A Balanced Diet

Consuming healthy food is very important during those nine months. Make sure you eat nutritious food and avoid bad fats and oils. Consume a diet that is rich in vitamins, particularly vitamin E and vitamin C. Also include silicon and zinc as part of the diet so that the skin can remain healthy. Drink water in increased quantities so that your skin remains hydrated.

Also make sure that you do not consume food in excessive quantities. There are a lot of people who believe that pregnant women should eat for two, but this is not really so. Your appetite does increase and you require 500 extra calories on a daily basis, but this does not mean that you can eat everything. You should eat more, but it should still be healthy food. 

Use A Moisturizing Cream Or Lotion
You should regularly apply a moisturizing cream or lotion onto your skin so that it looks better, feels softer and appears more toned. Doing this also reduces the itchiness which is quite common as your belly grows.

Start using the creams in the early days of your pregnancy. Make sure they contain vitamin E, vitamin A, alpha hydroxyl acids or AHAS, and other necessary ingredients. There are a lot of creams and balms out there that claim they can completely prevent stretch marks. Do not be lured by these because this is not always so, and there is no guarantee that you would not have to bear stretch marks. The only things that such products can guarantee is that they can reduce the stretch marks and make them less notable because they keep the skin supple. Moreover, applying the cream onto the skin also improves circulation in the area.

In the olden days, women used a mixture of wheat germ oil and almond oil for this same purpose. If you are a fan of traditions, you can try this out, but you should know that many market-made creams will almost have similar effects.

Once your pregnancy is over and you are done with breastfeeding, you can make use of more effective creams that contain Retin A or tretinoin. Avoid creams with parabens and petrochemicals. Use an all-natural cream or lotion instead. 

Monitor Your Weight

If your weight increases at a normal pace, you have more control over your stretch marks and can deal with them more effectively. As such, you should make sure that your weight increases gradually and not instantly. Generally, in the first 12 weeks, you can put on about 4.5 pounds extra at the most. In the middle stages, which is the period between week 12 and week 28, your weight should not increase by more than 14 ounces on a weekly basis. In the last six months you can gain up to about seven pounds total.

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Reviewed By:

Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com.