How to Combat Stretch Marks During Your Pregnancy

It’s bad enough that during pregnancy women have to deal with hormonal changes and water retention, but one of the most inconvenient after-effects of pregnancy, which mostly disappears after childbirth, is the stretch marks. Stretch marks or striae occur in the most inconvenient places on the body, and are generally semi-permanent. nnWhat do we mean here by semi-permanent? Semi-permanent means they could stay on the surface on the skin as unwanted guests for half a year or for ten years, depending on your skin type. nnOf course we don’t want this to happen, and thus, we should take all the available steps to making our pregnancy a pampered one. We should see to it that everything possible has been done to make sure that our skin is not taken for granted. nnWe don’t have to end up with lots and lots of stretch marks just because we had a child and had given birth. The following recommendations have been made easy to follow; the steps are also inexpensive- but your skin will surely become robust and elastic if you accomplish them. nnnThe steps nn1. The first and most important step in the attempt to protect your skin from the ravages of pregnancy and stretch marks is to keep yourself well-hydrated throughout the nine months. nnThough some people believe that this will cause more swelling through fluid retention, it won’t. There is a difference between the swelling due to water retention (through hormonal changes) and weight gain from fluids (like drinking too many bottles of soft drinks). nnKeeping yourself well-hydrated does not mean that you have to drink 16 liters of water a day. Simply put, if you feel thirsty, at all, you have to drink. You can stick to pure water, or if you wish, your favorite natural fruit juices. nn2. You can fight stretch marks even when you are taking a bath. What you have to invest in are pH-balanced bathing products (such as bath gels) that will maintain the over-all moisture and elasticity of the skin. Now, more than ever, you need to make your skin as healthy and as radiant as possible from the outside. nnSince there are few medical supplements you can take to counteract skin drying, you have to take the necessary precautions from the outside yourself. It seems that you have to abandon your ordinary soap. nn3. What do you do after taking a bath? You might find this funny, but the next important step is to take a moisturizing cream or lotion and actually massage your abdominal area. The focus is not to massage what is inside the bump, but to massage the skin and to integrate the moisturizing cream to the skin. nnDo this regularly, so that you would be able to help the skin on the abdominal part of your body to expand slowly and efficiently in tandem with the increasing tummy. nn4. Now, for those who have been enthusiasts of exercise before their pregnancy, did you know that actually engaging in light exercises during your nine months would make your skin healthier? nnThe light exercise would flush your skin, which would improve the delivery mechanism of the skin in relation to vitamins, minerals and vital proteins.