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2 years, 8 months ago

If stretch marks are genetic, is there any way women can still try to prevent them from occurring before getting pregnant?

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duenhsiyen | 2 years, 8 months ago
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Stretch marks are due to the sudden excessive stretching of the skin beyond its elastic limit which causes tears in the lower layers of the skin, causing some thinning, and then the underlying blood vessels start to show through. If you can avoid gaining too much weight during pregnancy, then you could prevent their development. Contrary to common belief, you don't need to eat for two people when you are pregnant. I would estimate that if you gain less than 30 pounds during your pregnancy, you will not have stretch marks. Use the pregnancy weight chart in the sources to determine what the appropriate about of weight to gain during each month. Note, for a 120 pound 5'2" female, the weight gain for a full term birth is only 25 pounds. Now if you are overweight, then the probability of getting stretch marks is much higher, because there is the tendency to eat too much during the pregnancy. If you are not already pregnant, I would try to get your BMI into the normal range first (18.5 to 24.9), as this would be the healthiest not only for you, but for your baby.

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duenhsiyen | 2 years, 8 months ago Report

I just noticed a Mahalo manage page on the subject How to reduce pregnancy stretch marks

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caitw | 2 years, 8 months ago
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If they are genetic, your chances of getting them are still very great despite your efforts of preventing them. With that said, you can't really prevent them, but you could reduce the severity of them.

Stretch marks are due to your skin stretching beyond what it normally could. Aside from genetics, other factors such as skin tone and ethnicity, nutrition and skin condition can make the chances for stretch marks greater. During pregnancy, chances are greater if you can too much weight or gain it too fast or if your body is small.

It is important to always keep your skin moisturized. Look for lotions or oils that contain Vitamin E, Vitamin A or cocoa butter.

A good diet of vegetables, fruits and leafy greens is important for many reasons. Not only is a diet consisting of those foods healthy, but it improves the strength of your skin. Zinc, as well as Vitamins E and C, are useful for the elasticity of skin and helping it return back to normal quickly after a major physical change (ie. pregnancy). Water and vitamins are also helpful.

There isn't anything you could do before pregnancy, since there are some changes during pregnancy that you can't control. For instance, if you have multiples or suffer from swelling. You can control your weight, which can cause a high degree of stretch marks when gained too quickly or when you gain too much. It is healthy and normal to gain weight during pregnancy, just moderately.

Stretch marks during pregnancy are usually inevitable. Again, it depends on many factors.

Even if you do end up with stretch marks, they do lighten up and become less noticeable over time.

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cboy | 2 years, 8 months ago
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you can prevent stretch marks lots of ways heres a list

gain only the suggested amount of weight
keep your skin very moisturized ( i use coco butter and it works pretty gud)
eating a good diet fruits and veggies
drink plenty of water
take the vitamins the doctor gave you
source(s):
http://www.expectantmothersguide.com/library/pittsburgh/stretch.htm

also my girlfriend is bout to be 40 weeks and shes been doing all of the things i listed and after each shower she puts coco butter all over her body and she doesnt have any stretch marks at all

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caitw | 2 years, 8 months ago Report

I just want to make note that while it may seem that stretch marks aren't present during pregnancy, they may become more visible post partum. While I was pregnant, I was positive that I would be stretch mark free since I (and many others) couldn't notice them and did what was recommended. However, I do have them. Everybody is different, though. :)

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silke7 | 2 years, 8 months ago Report

I just wanted to add that, from experience, make sure to put the cocoa butter all over your body, not just your belly. I thought I was golden--gained a healthy 35 lb with NO visible stretch marks when I looked in the mirror. Then one day I realized I had them all over my butt . . . I had never thought to put the cocoa butter there . . . now I always tell my friends to make sure you moisturize everywhere!!

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