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Stretch Marks And Pregnancy - Causes And Prevention
By Dr. Madhumita Mazumdar, Thu Dec 8th
Stretch marks. Striae Gravidarum. The marks of pregnancy. Callthem what you will. But they are the one thing that all womendread will occur as soon as they get pregnant.
But what are anyway? And why do they occur?Well, the reason lies in the anatomy of the skin. The skin hastwo layers - a thin upper layer called the epidermis, and athicker, lower layer called the dermis. Scattered in the dermisare fine protein filaments called elastin that, like a piece ofrubber band, are capable of stretching on being pulled. But justas a rubber band can stretch only so far and no further, theseelastin fibres can also be stretched only to a certain extent.If stretched further, they snap. The increasing bulk of theuterus during pregnancy causes the skin to stretch to a greatextent and the elastin fibres are torn. The torn elastinproduces scars on the skin called Stria Gravidarum or stretchmarks.
They occur on the lower abdomen of all pregnant women,right? Well, right and wrong. They appear in most pregnant women, butnot in all and not just on the lower abdomen. Stretch marksoccur when the skin is stretched in a very short period of time,as in pregnancy or in obesity. They occur: - In the lower abdomen in pregnancy. - Along the sides of the breasts either in pregnancy or inobesity. - Upper thighs. - Occasionally even on the inner sides of the upper arms. But can be prevented? Thankfully, the answer is yes, to a certain extent. Althoughsome women are genetically prone to develop stretch marks, ithas been noted that athletes and women accustomed to heavy,physical labour get very few or no stretch marks. This isregardless of whether their female relatives have stretch marksor not. The reason for this is that that these women have verywell-developed and strong abdominal muscles. These muscles caneasily take the weight of the growing uterus and prevent it frompressing forwards on the skin - rather like wearing a strongmuscular belt under the skin. The skin is thus stretched less,less elastin fibres are damaged, and there are fewer stretchmarks. Again a supple, healthy, well moisturized skin is capable ofstretching more without any lasting damage. So if a woman canstrengthen her abdominal muscles and keep her skin healthy andsupple, there is less chance of her developing stretch marks. But how? How do I develop my muscles and keep my skinmoisturized? Gentle exercises for the abdominal muscles can be started assoon as pregnancy has been confirmed or even as pregnancy isbeing planned. Exercise 1 : Standing erect, raise both arms above thehead. Bend forward slowly to touch your toes. Hold the positionfor a count of 100. Then slowly
straighten up. Do this exerciseat least once daily. Exercise 2 : Standing erect, raise both arms above thehead and clasp your hands. Now bend slowly to your left as fardown as you feel comfortable. Hold for a count of 10. Straightenup slowly and then bend to your right. Hold to a count of 10.Straighten up. Exhale as you are bending and inhale whilestraightening up. This makes one set. Do at least 3 sets oncedaily. Exercise 3 : Stand straight with feet about 12 inchesapart. Place hands on your back at the waist. Slowly bend back,as far back as you feel comfortable. Hold to a count of 10.Straighten up. Now bend forward slowly, hold the position to acount of 10. Then straighten up. Exhale as you are bending andinhale while straightening up. This makes one set. Do at least 3sets once daily.
These three exercises will strengthen the abdominal and backmuscles as well as gently stretch the skin. They also improvethe posture during pregnancy.
Caring for the skin : Keep the skin moisturized byapplying oil - olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil or any goodbaby oil - thoroughly over the skin of the abdomen, hips andthighs. Massage it in with sweeping upward strokes. You can dothis before you exercise so that the oil is properly absorbed asthe skin is stretched during exercise. This will make the skinsupple and healthy and capable of stretching without damagingthe elastin fibres.
A Good Diet : Take a good diet with lots of fresh fruitsand vegetables and adequate liquids. And do not forget yourdaily vitamins. This will ensure a healthy and supple skin. But what happens if the have already occured?How do I get rid of them? The good thing about is that they fade over time.When they are first formed, they are reddish or purplish, butlater they become thin silvery lines that may not be visible atfirst glance. The bad thing about is that they canbe removed permanently only by surgery. The elastin and collagengrowth can be stimulated to some extent by cocoa butter, VitaminE, wheat germ oil and lanolin. But to remove the markscompletely, laser surgery, blue light therapy and other surgicaltreatments are the only options. Many creams and lotionsavailable on the market also claim to be able to remove stretchmarks but have yet to be medically proved.
Visit www.gynaeonline.com/care to learn more about and otherpregnancy related issues. About the author:The author, Dr.M.D.Mazumdar is a consultant gynaecologist withmore than fifteen years of experience in private practice. Sheruns an Online Consultation Clinic athttp://www.gynaeonline.com , where she answers questionson Pregnancy and Gynaecology. For more information on Careduring Pregnancy, clickhttp://www.gynaeonline.com/care.htm
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