There are very few people around you who don’t have scratch marks on several body parts. Around 80% of people face this problem. Pregnancy stretch marks are not a disease and cause no complexity in your daily workings. But for some people, this is a matter of great concern, especially for the mother who got stretch marks for pregnancy.
Getting Pregnancy stretch marks in the underarms, thigh, etc., is not very noticeable. But the pregnancy marks are bulk in amount and easily noticeable, which make the woman uncomfortable and frustrated. But you need not be so worried.
Let’s see how to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy.
1. Eat Omega-3s
To prevent pregnancy stretch marks, this is very important to be supple for your skin and the best way to keep the skin supple is to consume more and more Omega-3 fatty acids. Pregnant women should eat lots of cold-water fish. Cold-water fish contains lots of omega-3. You can eat-
- Salmon
- Herring
- Mackerel
- Sardines.
Suppose you are a vegetarian. No need to worry. You can also get Omega-3 from many vegetables. You can get-
- Chia seeds
- Flaxseed
- Walnuts
- Algae
- Soybeans.
Nutritionists suggest consuming around 8 ounces of seafood per week to prevent stretch marks. But you should avoid fish that have a lot of mercury.
2. Get vitamin D
Another way of preventing stretch marks is to have vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for healthy skin. Consuming vitamin D helps to grow new cells in the marked area and remove the mark.
You can get vitamin D from foods directly. Cord fish lever is very rich in vitamin D, so you can eat this. There are so many people who prefer to get vitamin D from sun exposure. This is definitely a great way.
But too much sun exposure will burn your skin. If you do it regularly, you may also be affected by Skin Cancer. So be careful about it.
3. Gain proper weight during pregnancy
Pregnant should be careful about this thing from the first stage of pregnancy. They can control stretch marks by gaining the right amount of weight. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a woman who is healthy should gain around 25–35 pounds.
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If you are already overweight, you should gain 15–25 pounds. If you are underweight, you should gain up to 40 pounds. You should visit a doctor to get the right suggestion according to your physical structure.
4. Use a moisturizer
The most reliable way of preventing pregnancy stretch marks is to keep the skin supple. You can use moisturizer to keep the skin flexible and supple so that the skin can tackle the pressure when your tummy is getting big.
Many people use oil and different creams in this case. These are pretty effective to reduce the mark. But we need more positive results from recent studies. Till then, moisturizer is the best option for every pregnant woman.
5. Avoid anabolic steroid usage
There are so many people who use anabolic steroids, especially athletes. If you are one of them, leave it today. Stretch marks are created due to the tightened skin and anabolic steroid makes skin dry and weakens the skin.
So, it prevents the creation of new cells and the marks take lots of time to be removed. In some cases, it is impossible to remove the marks due to the anabolic steroid. So, you should avoid this thing.
6. Limit or avoid steroid creams for itching
While pregnant, itching is a common problem. You will be exhausted due to the itching in several body parts, especially in the tummy area. To reduce itchiness, many women use steroid cream. This is equally harmful, just like the anabolic steroid.
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Steroid cream has lots of cortisone that causes weakened skin’s collagen. This is probably the reason why the stretch marks are created. You can use the itching cream. But, you should check that the cream has cortisone or not. If not, this is perfect for you.
7. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
We can’t say that eating lots of fruits and vegetables will prevent pregnancy stretch marks completely. This is not a proven fact. But it is definitely true that your skin needs huge nutrition to be healthy.
Vitamin A, C, E and Zinc are the elements that make your skin healthy and healed all the time. So, you have to ensure that you are eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Your skin will be healed automatically with time.
8. Get regular exercise
As we said before, getting overweight during pregnancy is a great reason for stretch marks. If you are able to control the weight, you will get these lines less than others. You have to exercise regularly to control your weight.
There are so many exercises for pregnant women that help them to maintain health properly and lose weight to keep their feet. You should talk to your doctor and get proper instructions for exercising. Hopefully, it will help you.
9. Wear sunscreen and avoid direct sun
People frequently go to the beach for chilling and so many pregnant women. If you are going somewhere like a beach with an open sky, you should use sunscreen cream.
Sunbath is good for the skin. But extreme hot and sunny days will cause sunburn and this will damage your skin more. So, apply sunscreen to all those body parts where you may get marks, including your tummy. It will help to heal your skin a lot.
10. Treat fresh stretch marks when they appear
If you are not able to prevent the marks, you can do something at least to make the marks less visible. When you first notice the marks, you should start treatment. There are several medicines that can heal the marks.
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You should visit your doctor or a dermatologist to get suggestions. They can suggest medications to deal with the marks.
Takeaway
Pregnancy stretch marks are not visible in the early stage of pregnancy. You will see these clearly in the last trimester of pregnancy and even in the postpartum period. So, if you want to prevent these marks, follow all the instructions from the time when you are thinking of having a baby.
A routined lifestyle and healthy food habits can help you the most to prevent pregnancy stretch marks. So, make sure that you are doing all the things above.
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