Is There Any Prevention for Stretchmarks?

I gained 20 pounds, slowly, and got lots of stretch marks. I think it does help to gain weight steadily, and to keep lotion on so that the skin does not get dry (from my baby books). I have a friend who gained 80lbs and has a flawless stomach, so I really believe there is not much you can do about it.

It may be genetic. I gained 85 pounds with my first and never got any stretch marks. The only thing I can say is that I put baby oil on my skin after I get out of the shower and let it sit for a minute or two before I dry off and I put lotion on every night before I go to bed. Itwas a habit I had before I got pregnant and it may have helped. Congrats on the upcoming grandchild!

The only thing that I can tell you is that she needs to keep her belly very hydrated. Lotion..lotion..lotion!!!! The best lotion that I found is cocoa butter, they also have a mothers helper lotion. And the number one rule is DO NOT SCRATCH!! My belly was only itchy when I did not put lotion, so I would just carry cocoa butter lotion everywhere and slather it on all the time. Hope this helps!!

C. B.
www.CorissaBell.myarbonne.com

First, Congrats on becoming a grandmother!

I am not sure I can offer any advice. Getting stretchmarks is not genetic. My mother got them, my sister got them, I didn't. I am on pregnancy #4. With my 1st and 3rd children, I gained 62 pounds. And with my 2nd and current, I only gained 25-30. (my pre-preg weight was 105) I think it has to do with the elasticity in a person's skin. I currently use Palmers Stretch Mark lotion, but only because my tummy itches every now and then.

I say if a person gets stretch marks from a pregnancy and child, tell her to take them in GRACE from the child she carried for 9 months. So many times a lady will give birth and miss that "inside" feeling. And the only thing she has left are those "marks".

Congrats again!

Congratulations! What an exciting and amazing time for your family. I hope all goes well with the pregnancy & birth.

I don't know how effective it is for during a pregnancy (and should certainly be reviewed with your Dr while carrying), but Arbonne offers a Body care set that has performed miracles for women following the birth. If you have any interest I would be happy to get more information for you, as well as a sample (works great for our ultra dry "flip flop feet" during summers, too!). Take Care!

It is genetic, but I believe there are things that can help the severity. One is to keep hydrated, both inside and outside, so lots of water (which she should be drinking anyway) and lots of lotion. Also, weight gain is a factor. I had the picture perfect pregnancy and only gained 20 lbs. and didn't have a single stretch mark until the last 2 weeks until they "exploded", and they still aren't "bad," but they are bad to me!!

Hi P.,

Check out this website:
http://www.oil-testimonials.com/7532

You may be able to find an essential oil that will work on the prevention of stretch marks. If you find an oil you would like to try contact me at www.youngliving.org/sherylhawkinson

I will be happy to help you with any questions you may have. I have had remarkable results using Essential Oils with my family, pets and myself. All natural is always better for all of us and for our environment.

P.,
There is a lotion that you use to be able to get at Walmart it is called mothers best friend...they say it works. I have been pregnant 3 times and all the doctors told me it was hereditary. My sister is pregnant now and had to go to the dermetologist for a break out and he too told her it was hereditary....but i have been told that viatamin E oil works good. You never know its worth a shot if they can be prevented, but i always have been told if your mother had them more than likely you will too.

Avon has a new stretch mark cream. I am checking to see if it is suppose to prevent them.. or just help make them go away after they occur.

You can contact me at ____@____.com.

Hi P.,

I drank lots of water- exercised (low key - eliptical machine and walking)gained 25 lbs very slowly....and covered my belly in lotion after shower every night preferrably the ones that have vitamin e...I have heard it is genetic too...I did not get any stretch marks but did increase the veins on my legs Ewwww.. I guess we can't win them all....lol Congrats on your first grandbaby!

My personal belief is that it is both of these things. Genetics as well as weight gain. I am prone to stretch marks (got them when I hit puberty) but my belly doesn't get very big when pregnant because I am a little wider in the hips. I gained about 40lbs and then 25 lbs with my pregnancies. I had none on my stomach but 2 or 3 on each hip. All of my friends who have very tiny hips got very big in the belly. Most of these girls got stretch marks. Even though I hear lotions don't do the trick, it can't hurt to do it anyway. I used Burt's Bees Baby Oil (you can buy it off of vitacost.com much cheaper than in the stores). It smells great and soaks in fast so you don't feel oily. Good luck! Brandy (Mother of 2)

I was told that vitamin E rubbed directly on the skin would help the skin to expand better with less stretching
Good luck and congradulations to all

Years ago I had a friend (beautiful girl); she got married
and then pregnant and she, too wanted no stretch marks.

Due to her FAITHFUL use of cocoa butter she did not have
one stretch mark. The nurses in delivery were all amazed
that this girl had no stretch marks.

Give it a try, hope it works as well for your daughter
as it did for my friend 30 years ago. Sometimes you just
can't beat the "old remedies". Good luck to your daughter
and congrats on becoming a grandmother. I have two grand-
children and I constantly say being a grandmother is the
only thing that makes getting old worth it!

Hi
Has she noticed stretch marks yet? If so, she can try a cream called "Maderma" but consult with OBGYN first. It is sold over the counter. As far as it being genetic, I am not totally convinced this is a fact. I do notice it is seen more often in women that are carrying girls because of the estrogen. I worked for an OBGYN for 13 years and rarely saw it in women carrying boys. Now, is this a myth, I am not sure? I just know through my experience while working in this field. I am a twin of a girl and my mom got stretch marks when she carried us. I have had 3 boys, my twin has a boy and a girl and my other sisters have boys and girls and none of us got stretch marks, at least not from our pregnancy. Ha! In addition, they will look worse while your pregnant, but often fade a great deal after the pregnancy (not right away, but they do)! I bet she looks beautiful, regardless if she has them or not. Be Encouraged!

I am covered in them, so i am not the best to give advice. However i have heard that Tea builds elasticity in your skin. Helps it to stretch. Also cocoa butter..worth a shot.

I used Palmer's Cocoa butter every night after taking a shower and that seemed to help. You can get it at Target or Wal-Mart.. Good luck to you & your daughter!! =)

Hi P.,
I've heard all of the above as well. When I was pregnant with my son I found a really good cream that at least helped with stretch marks. It was at Motherhood Maternity. I don't remember the name but it was right behind the register. Just ask for the belly cream and they'll know what your talking about. It may not completely keep her from getting stretch marks but it will help. I even used it after I delivered and it helped to get rid of the ones I had. Good Luck on your search and Congratulations.
M.

I am inclined to go with the doctor. I had stretch marks on my hips from a rapid growth spurt when I was 14 and grew 4 inches in one summer. Given that I figured getting stretch marks with first pregnancy was inevitable due to already showing a tendency toward them but that was not the case.I started at 118 and went to 159 with 1st son and had no stretch marks and never used lotions or creams. I started at 150 with 2nd son and when I hit 164 I started getting stretch marks and upon delivery reached 204. I used lotions and oils faithfully with no luck in stopping/preventing them the 2nd time. I am only 5'3 1/2 and I believe if I had started at a lower weight and not gained as much with 2nd son I would have very few or even none. I think for my body/skin my max stretch point was 164 and any weight gain past that led to the stretch marks.I think rapid weight gain plays a part also even if you overall don't gain a lot. Best advice is start pregnancy at a healthy weight and strive to gain only 25-35 and spread out weight gain as evenly as possible throughout pregnancy. I know for me on both pregnancies I gained no weight first 4 months and all the weight in the last 5 months. First son was 41 lbs and 2nd son was 54 lbs and I ate anything I wanted with 1st and followed a strict diet with 2nd son and gained more. So frustrating. I think some women no matter what gain more and some gain stay in the ranges. If she gets them there is a product called Mederma that is awesome and reduces their appearance but she can only use it after delivery since the medicine is absorbed in the skin and potentially to the baby.

Just a tip cause I DID get them too, but not til within 4 weeks of my delivery with my first. I can't even tell you if I had any with my second cause I would not be able to tell one from the other. Anyhow, about a month prior to my delivery, I ran out of cream. I went to the store and could not find the one that I had been use to wearing, so i bought some that was similar and had the vitamin E that I needed. Needless to say that my entire belly broke out with tiny red bumps. I rashed all over from this new cream. It itched so badly I think I was in the shower for an entire week until it went away. I could not help but scratch and scratch, it was absolutely an insane experience. I did not even notice that I had gotten stretch marks until my mom told me I had. My belly was so large (the baby was all on the outside) that I could not see the bottom of my belly even looking in a mirror. I was so upset, but managed to get over it.

Good luck!

lotion lotion lotion! i put lotion on my belly, breasts and i was lucky enough to not get stretch marks. however, i never thought about my legs. my legs swelled so bad that i got horrible stretch marks on my hips, thighs, and around knees. I bought a product called NaturaBisse DermaRepair from Neiman Marcus. It worked really well at reducing the redness and a little of the depth of the stretch marks. Expensive, but totally worth it.

When I asked my OB about it she told me that I would probably not get stretchmarks with my first pregnancy, but should expect them from my second... And I did not get stretchmarks (and have not yet started with #2).

Yes that weight gain is not friendly, however applying coco butter liberly twice a day makes a difference. good luck--mot everyones skin responds the same.

I have had two kids my two different OBGYN's (due to a move between kids) and both of them told me that they are genetic and cannot be prevented. You can maybe reduce them but won't be able to prevent them. I started with Vitamin E and lanolin adn every suggestion under the sun and I still got them really bad. My sister didn't use a a thing for either of her pregnancy's and she didn't have one mark. Sorry wish I had better advice but she just might get them.

Nothing worked for me. I alternated between the Avon stretch mark cream and the Cocoa butter one. I did hear about a product from the Dead Sea. Its sold in one of the kyosks in the middle of the walkway out at the Fairfield outlets. Its a body butter and suppose to be guaranteed to take them away, but they didn't say a thing abot preventing them. I am going to get some and try it this go around. it's pretty pricy at 50 dollars a jar. but supposed to last a year

Palmers cocoa butter lotion for stretch marks or usually any type of good body lotion/creme or even I heard once, cooking oil! Anything I think that would lubricate & 'massage' the skin would do okay. She still may get marks but you may also want to look up suggestions online too.

my husband and I had a ritual, he lathered on some vitamin E cream on me every night from my breasts to my thighs front and back! I did not get a single stretch mark. I was very thin when I got pregnant and I didn't gain alot of weight, but what I did gain was all tummy and no stretch marks there at all! Vitamin E is what they use for scars and burns, worked great preventing stretch marks too! Start right away!
Oh as a P.S. it also gave me and my husband some connection time! and my husband had a very Important job in the pregnancy!

I've always been told it's just a matter of keeping your skin moisturized all the time. I didn't do that with my first and got a bunch of stretch marks. With my second I did and didn't notice any new ones. I didn't use anything special in the way of lotions - just something that moisturizes. But start early and keep it up! Good luck to your dd! :) And congrats, Grandma!

Tell your daughter to drink plenty of water, and to put lotion on herself EVERY night. The water will help keep her hydrated inside the body making the skin easier to stretch. The lotion will ease the skin to stretch on the outside.

There is nothing you can do :( BUT, she can help it heal by putting vitamin E oil on her belly or mederma. I have been using curel lotion to moisturize. You want to find a lotion that does NOT have mineral oil in it. Mineral oil stays on the surface and doesn't penetrate. Unfortunately, even the lotions that go deeper, STILL don't go to the level of the tears of the stretch marks :) Tell your daughter all I've been told is that when I hold that baby in my arms, all my stretch marks and weight gain will have been worth it ;)

I have also heard that stretchmarks are genetic...I am 34 weeks pregnant with my second child and with both pregnancies I used a cream from Bath and Body Works called Lay it on Thick. I never got any stretchmarks with my first and don't have any with this pregnancy. I gained 40 lbs with my son and almost 30 lbs so far this go 'round. I love that cream and it smells awesome. Good Luck.

I am sure many have already responded...I used the cocoa butter cream for stretch marks and drank lots of water! It helped I have NO strecth marks from my pregnancy.

I used cocoa butter with my first pregnancy and still got stretch marks. With my second a freind told me to use a skin firming lotion (I know it sounds like the last thing you'd want to do) She said that it would make my skin more elastic. I used it every day when I got out of the shower and no stretch marks this time around. Of course it could just be because I was already stretched out from the first one. HA Ha!Be Sure to tell her to put it on her boobs and inside and outside of her thighs too. Some women are only worried about there bellies, then Ooops.
Hey if she does get them remember. They start out red and ugly. but they fade to silver. Most of the time I hardly know that they are there.

I didn't use anything for either one of my pregnancies & I didn't get any stretch marks. My mom got lots. I gained 35-40 pounds with each pregnancy which is not much considering my height.

That said, a lotion/cream of type will certainly not cause stretch marks.

I gained 75 pounds with twins and am back to
pre-pregnant weight with no stretch marks. I used
vit. E oil topically and drank liquids to stay hydrated from the inside.
Good luck.

I come from a family that get A LOT of stretchmarks. In my first pregnancy I did not get any compared to my mother and my sister that look like a maps.

What I did... I used a cream from ORIGINS called "A perfect world" Intensely hydrating body cream with White tea. I applied it morning AND night. To make it a loving time I used to ask my husband to rub it on my belly at night time.

I am in second pregnancy and have not been as consistent with the cream as the other time and I already have some stretchmarks.

Other thing that is VERY, VERY good is the brand MUSTELA and they have a something special for stretchmarks once the baby is born. I used it also the first time and FOR sure will use it even more this time.

I also used pure vitamin E oil that you can get at whole-food market.

Hope this help, good luck and congratulations.

P.,
vitiam E oil rub your tummy with it and any where else as often as youd like ,i works great
L.

She can try the coca butter cream for stretch marks and put them on everyday during and after.

I asked my doctor and she said it was genetic. So I asked my Mom and she said yes, she had gotten stretch markes when pregnant. However, I did not. I drank lots of water, exercised regularly, and used the Palmers coco butter cream on my belly every night once it started to grow. I gained a total of 28 lbs and gained it slowly over time and most in the last trimester.

I am 38 weeks pregnant and have been using shea butter faithfully since the date of my conception and it works great for prevention of stretch marks. Use it as often as needed especially when you feel the need to scratch your belly and or breasts. I would also advise you to rub the areas that are itching instead if scratching.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter cream has decreased marks two of my friends had (plus it's cheap)...they make a stretch mark one and just a regular one--I think the stretch mark one is the same ingr. but priced slightly more. Sold at Wal-Mart. I hope your dil places the importance of nutrition over any kind of "risk" of lasting stretch marks. I had very few marks which stayed after Baby 1 (some naturally disappeared as the hormones changed and linea negra faded, etc.) but after you have several children then of course there's supposed to be more stretching, naturally. I've had four children so far and the marks are almost invisibly silver, but I've focused a lot on nutrition and hydration, not much on creams. The remark from the dermatologist would lead someone to believe that the less you gain, the less stretch marks you have (or if you gain little weight you won't get any)--when in my opinion it's how much your skin is being stretched to accommodate the change in growing a baby/babies (not necessarily wt. gain--because wt will go throughout mama's body--and wt. gain from lots of nourishment is of prime importance for Baby) and the hormones and hydration in your system. You could do some online research and see if there's a report from a medical study. You can get abstracts for free from PubMed.org or .net something like that. Have fun!

Shea Butter works great! She has to moisturize her belly every day and night. I know where you can get great products. T.

It is impossible to prevent them.(unless you are a celebrity lol) there is a very small percentage of women who will not get strechmarks the only advice i have is to drink plenty of water to keep the skin hydrated and try not to gain weight so fast try to pace it if possible and use some sort of cocoa butter it will not stop them for coming but it will help with the color.I didn't get strechmarks on my stomach until my ninth month i thought i was clear but that was not the case i started to get them on my side around my fifth month. Also use the cocoa butter at least twice a day. Good Luck!

mama mio tummy rub oil and cream worked for me!!! not one line :)

I didn't know this when I had my two boys....but the models always wear supportive garments. ALWAYS wear some sort of support for breasts, tummy, and thighs. And alway keep those areas hydrated w/ lotion. Dry skin will stretch faster. Best of luck. I only gained 35 lbs w/ each. The stretch marks I got didn't show till I lost all my baby weight. They were all over my hips and outer thighs. Can't hide those in a swimsuit!! Wish I had known about the girdle trick!!

I was told to use Cocoa Butter. You can buy it at WalMart.
It is thick and greasy, but I didn't get any stretch marks until 3 weeks before I delivered and they were tiny and below my belly button !!!Now...20 years later...still have a pretty tummy:)

They say sweet almond oil every day, massage on belly and thighs. Also, a good diet of fruits and vegetables and not too much processed foods helps the skin stay elastic and smooth.
But I'm sure genes play a part too.

I used Palmers Coco Butter Lotion and I do not have any stretch marks. I do not know if it was the lotion or if it is because I didn't get real big until my last month or month and a half. I would rub my belly down in the morning, at night after my shower and on weekends I would put it on periodically during the day. Good luck.

YES!!! Palmer's "strech mark cream" It is soooo awesome and inexpensive and at the grocery store! Strech marks are genetic- my mother has the worst case ever! My father also has some and I have them on my thighs and chest from growing. So, when I got pregnant I thought I was doomed!
But, I put the cream on thick twice a day, as directed. I gained and lost 55 pounds and I have no strech marks! btw, My son is now 2.
Hope this helps!

I personally swear by salt scrubs with the oil in them (I used Origins Ginger Scrub but cheaper ones are available most everywhere including Target and WalMart)... I used them while I was in the shower to scrub off the dead skin on my belly and butt (don't use on your breasts, too harsh). I didn't get any stretch marks. Don't know if that was it.. but it definitely felt good to scrub off skin as my body was expanding.

I used Bio Oil - it was great and I am prone to stretchmarks.

Genetics does play a part, but I'm a firm believer in the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Cream made just for this purpose. You can't miss it- I believe it has a pregnant lady on the front. I used with both pregnancies and made it out without one stretch mark. (Not to mention I gained double the weight that your suppose to with my first one!)LOL

I used Palmer's Cocoa Butter, at first I bought the one @ walmart then I went to Babies R Us and there was a gift set with the oil, regular stretch mark cream, and a more concentrated (thicker) cream. I used it every night. My husband would tell me, "go get your belly butter". Also, she just needs to try not to have excessive weight gain. Stay healthy and be as active as she can be. I didn't get one stretchmark, so I hope this helps!

I used Revitol stretchmark cream early on in my pregnancy and didn't get one stretch mark. I don't know if it's genetic, but I had them on my outer thigh area when I gained weight after high school (years ago!). This cream even diminished those already existing marks. Also, it said to use this cream twice a day and I only used it in the morning after my shower - still NO marks or signs of any marks forming. My little girl is now 20 mo. old and the one thing I never had to worry about was stretchmarks. It really worked amazingly!

Hi P.,

I have tried many products and a lot of them do a fine job at moisturizing but the stretch marks keep coming. Now with my fourth pregnancy (6 weeks to go!) I found Earth Mama Angel Baby products that are natural and organic. They have a Stretch oil that really seems to work for me. Even my old marks have faded dramatically. Here is the web site.

www.earthmamaangelbaby.com

M. K.