While pregnancy is an extremely happy time in a woman's life, having to put up with the accompanying skin problems during pregnancy can be somewhat of a drag.
Pregnancy can do some crazy things to your skin, many of them are due to the extreme hormone changes taking place. Some of those things have crazy-sounding nicknames such as pregnancy mask, chloasma, melasma, hyperpigmentation, PUPP, spider veins, stretch marks, linea nigra and skin tags. If you are prone to any particular type of skin condition, pregnancy may intensify their symptoms.
Good news - these problems are rarely serious and usually start to disappear soon after childbirth. Additionally, it is possible to minimize the severity of skin problems during pregnancy with extra care.
Acne. You thought that you were rid of that teenage problem. It is those crazy hormones at work! For some acne can rear its ugly head once again, while for others with existing acne, it can be quite the contrary.
The "pregnancy mask", also referred to as chloasma or melasma, are the brown spots that can show up on the face as a result of the pregnancy hormones (estrogen and progesterone) stimulating the melanin cells, producing more pigment in an erratic fashion (blotches). This can also happen to those taking birth control pills. A way to minimize the severity of the dark patches would be to wear sunscreen, or a moisturizer containing UV protection and limit your time in the sun.
Linea nigra, which means "black line" in Latin, is the dark vertical line that sometimes appears during pregnancy. It is a dark brown line that runs vertically from just below the navel to the pubic area. In some, it may even extend above the navel to the rib cage area. Caused by hormones, it usually appears somewhere around the second trimester and disappears after childbirth.
PUPP, or pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy are small red bumps and hives, sometimes in large patches. The rash usually starts on the stomach area, spreading to the breasts, thighs and buttocks. It is an annoying, but harmless condition that may occur towards the end of pregnancy. Moisturizing creams, or calamine lotion can help to curb the itching. If the condition is severe a doctor prescribed anti-itch medication.
Spider veins are thin radiating blood vessels that have the appearance of just that - spiders. They are not painful and may go away after pregnancy. If not, they are easily removed by a dermatologist.
Most women will develop stretch marks to some extent during pregnancy. Since every person is unique, there is no way to predetermine if someone will have a tendency to develop stretch marks, and if so, to what severity.
Stretch marks happen when there is a sudden weight gain and stretching of the skin. Breasts, buttocks, hips, thighs and stomach are some of the most common areas for stretch marks to appear. Stretch marks are created when the underlying tissue grows faster than the skin layers covering it, causing small tears in the skin's surface. They may appear as streaks of red or purple thinned skin, which fade to white scar-like streaks over time. This scar tissue is what creates stretchmarks.
Since stretch marks are basically scars, you cannot realistically expect to eliminate them completely once they happen. So, efforts to prevent stretch marks from happening then would be essential. Even if they are unavoidable, you can lessen their severity with proper skin care.
If you were using certain products to treat your skin prior to becoming pregnant, you will want to check with your doctor in order to be sure that they are safe to use during pregnancy. You may have to make a few changes in your skin care routine, such as changing the strength of your cleansers (more or less) and the frequency that you moisturize your skin.
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