Stretch Marks After Pregnancy

Having a baby is usually the happiest day of any woman’s life, but there is also something awful that come with every pregnancy: stretch marks. Stretch marks are white or pink lines that resemble scars. They can appear as early as the first trimester and continue to grow in large numbers depending on the circumstances. Some women may find them mere nuisances, but others suffering from severe stretch marks can experience real frustration and even depression. Fortunately, there are many ways to take care of your body and avoid these natal nightmares. We’ll show you how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy here.

What are stretch marks?

Stretch marks are basically scars. They often result when the skin is stretched too far and too quickly for it to properly adapt, thus resulting in tearing that leads to the marks. Although they can also happen when you are gaining weight rapidly, undergoing puberty, or even developing your muscles in the gym, it’s most readily apparent during and after pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the baby starts growing at an alarming rate inside your abdomen. Naturally, the belly enlarges outward to allow for this growth, and this means that the skin on the belly also needs to grow and stretch. Unfortunately, the baby’s growth is often much faster than skin growth, and the skin would not be able to keep up with the pressure. This leads to damage and tears in the collagen fibers that hold the skin together. The tears occur in the dermis, or the middle layer of the skin, and will show up as stretch marks. These marks can occur anywhere but will often be heavily concentrated on the abdomen, thighs, breasts, buttocks, and hips.

It is the dermis, or the middle layer, which gets damaged

Will I get them?

A lot of women have stretch marks after pregnancy, but curiously enough there are those who don’t experience it either. So which group do you belong to? In the end, it really depends on a lot of factors:

1. Genes – If the women in your family have had them during their pregnancies, chances are high that you’ll have them too. There’s absolutely nothing you can do about this aspect (it’s hard enough to change jeans, much more genes!) and it’s outside your control.
2. Weight – Even if you’re destined to get them due to hereditary circumstances, the severity of the marks can still be minimized with proper diet. If you gain too much weight by overeating during pregnancy, the marks will come out much worse.
3. Other factors – These involve the size of the baby, the number (twins, triplets, etc.), the amount of amniotic fluid, and so one, all of which are largely out of your control.

(Continued on next Page…How To Get Rid Of Stretch Marks After Pregnancy)

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