Women During Pregnancy and Stretch Marks

The people most at risk of stretch marks are women during pregnancy.  They have as high as a 75% chance of getting stretch marks.  There are many reasons for this and there are some things you can do to prevent stretch marks.

The first thing you can do is stay between 20-40 lbs of your normal weight.  One cause of tearing of the skin and stretch marks is the rapid weight gain accompanied with pregnancy.  You want to try and gain or lose weight as a gradual process.  You do not want to put too much stress on the collagen of your skin.

The next reason why pregnant women are more likely to get stretch marks is due to constant hormonal changes.  Hormones have a direct relationship with collagen.  Often during pregnancy hormones cause the collagen on the skin to lose its elasticity causing it to tear.

There are few things you can do to prevent these stretch marks.  You can apply creams or lotions with high amounts of vitamin A and E.  This will help to keep the skin hydrated and prevent free radicals from entering and damaging the skin.  Apply the cream to the areas that are prone to stretching such as the breasts, stomach, and underarms.

The last thing you can do is drink a lot more water.  Water plays an important role in how healthy our skin is.  It gets rid of toxins and keeps the skin hydrated so that tearing due to the skin losing its elasticity does not occur as often.

If you are pregnant you should eat foods with vitamins A and E, drink a lot of water, and try to prevent rapid weight gain or loss.  If you do these three things you are a lot less likely to end up with stretch marks.

photo credit: Daquella manera