You might be surprise for seeing some whitish lines on your belly during pregnancy. It can drop your confidence and cause uneasiness. Most women are proud of their growing belly, but not the stretch marks on it. You might think about how your belly will look like after you give birth if those marks are still there. To make it worse, those stretch marks do not only happen at the stomach area, instead you might find it on your buttocks, too.

What are stretch marks and why they appear?

Stretch marks usually appear around 2-4 weeks prior to your delivery. When you are pregnant, your belly is expanding to accommodate your baby inside. During pregnancy, you can find stretch marks not only on your belly, but also on your buttocks, breasts, hips, thighs, even underarms. Those marks appears as the result of changes in the tissues beneath your skin when your skin is expanding. Depending on your natural skin color, stretch marks can be brownish, pinkish, reddish brown, or purplish. After baby delivery, these marks usually turn into white light lines, but will not disappear completely. Almost half of pregnant women get stretch marks, and you can’t certainly know whether you are going to get ones during pregnancy or not. Despite this, there are some things that might put you in higher chances to get stretch marks during pregnancy.

1. Stretch marks are genetically determined. Should you have family members who have them when carrying a baby, you are most likely to experience this, too.
2. Your age when pregnant determines your chance of having stretch marks. When you are pregnant in your teen age, you are most likely to get those lines.
3. Should you gain a lot of weights fast during pregnancy, you will develop stretch marks along.
4. Carrying a big baby in your belly also heightened your possibility of having stretch marks when pregnant.
5. You have had possessed stretch marks before pregnancy, probably in your breasts or buttocks. This, hence will put you into a bigger chance of developing more stretch marks on your belly when pregnant.

How do I get rid of Stretch Marks?

Stretch marks are basically not harmful for your body. It won’t affect your health and pregnancy. However, it may ruin your confidence and self-esteem. Mostly, stretch marks are permanent and not removable. Despite this, there are some ways you can try to minimize the marks.

1. During your pregnancy, try not to boost your weight in sudden. Keep your weight gain slow, so that your skin won’t expand too quickly, causing streaks to the beneath elastic tissues.
2. Avoid high-fatted and processed foods that might cause fluid retention in your body. Stay consuming healthy balanced diet during pregnancy.
3. Water is always a good thing. Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day to keep you well-hydrated. Enough fluids will also nourish your elastic tissues and cells and keeps your skin from cracking.
4. Be positive. Once appear, stretch marks are not removable. That way, you have to distort your paradigm about these marks. Do not think about them too much and assume them as the price to pay for your beautiful baby.
5. Light exercises might reduce the possibility of having stretch marks, because they keep your skin tissues elastic. Do some advised exercises during pregnancy to help you fit and firm. However, during your later age of pregnancy, this exercise should be watched not to cause premature contractions.
6. Olive oil is enriched with vitamin E which is really good for your skin elasticity and soften your skin. Rub it on your belly before night sleep to minimize the stretch marks.
7. Lemon juice is the natural bleacher. You might want to rub it to the affected area and leave it for 10 minutes. Rinse afterwards and repeat every day.
8. Aloe Vera is very good for sunburn and stretch marks. Rub it and clean the residue after 15 minutes.

Stretch marks are quite disturbing. A lot of women try to find remedies for this. During pregnancy, you have to make sure those remedies are not harmful to your unborn baby, because it is all that matters.