meaning stretching of skin due to weight gain during pregnancy.

What are these Stretch marks?

They are essentially scar tissue. The skin consists of three layers - Epidermis - the outermost layer that we see, the middle layer is the Dermis and the lowermost layer is the subcutaneous tissue. The dermis which is middle layer consists of elastic and collagen tissue, which helps in keeping our skin taut. During pregnancy, due to the stretching of the skin, there are tears seen in the dermis and when they heal they form scars which are the stretch marks. 

Stretch marks during pregnancy can (but do not always) cause a burning and itching sensation. They do not, however, cause any health hazard.

What can you do to lessen the marks?

One thing for sure, you cannot do much about the marks which are already there. There is no proven treatment to get rid of stretch marks completely. They do lighten after pregnancy.

However, you should try to keep your skin moist during pregnancy which could help in the elasticity of the skin. Moisturizing daily with moisturizing creams will help with the dryness and itchy skin associated with pregnancy.

Eat a nutritious diet. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Diet rich in Vitamin C could help in nourishing your skin. Weight gain during pregnancy should be gradual. Sudden weight gain can put additional strain on skin and increase the stretch marks.

Don't fret over it, wait it out an most of them usually fade into more silvery gray streaks and become hardly noticeable over time.

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