For many pregnant moms it seems like it happens overnight. One moment people are saying "You're pregnant? I couldn't tell." Then what can feel like the very next day, friends are exclaiming, "Look at how big you got!!" Often expecting moms see growth not just in their torsos -- many moms see that their chests can expand as fast as their waistlines.
It is recommended that when your breasts become enlarged, you invest in a good, comfortable bra that can make all the difference. Though for some pregnant moms, it's not that they mind the actual size of their new chest so much (to the contrary: many find it novel!), it's more so that itchy skin from the expanding and stretching can make life uncomfortable.
With all of the changes in the skin and complexion during pregnancy, the skin around a pregnancy mom's chest and breasts can be just as afflicted as the stomach area. Often because of the growth, the area around the sides of breasts can get itchy, flakey and develop stretch marks. Aside from not being particularly attractive to have very dry skin, it is hard to get relief.
Many to most women will experience dry, itchy skin at some point during their pregnancies. Actually, when investigating how to relieve itchy pregnancy skin, there are some postings on the web from moms that claim itchy skin can actually be an early indicator of pregnancy. In fact, there are also some posts claiming that you can predict the gender of the baby based on how itchy you are!
The itching is more common over tightly stretched areas of skin in the later trimesters. This is because during the second and third trimesters your uterus will grow rapidly, stretching the skin over the abdomen and tearing the connective tissues in the dermis. Then the torn tissue heals with irregular scars known as stretchmarks (striae gravidarum).
Stretchmarks affect up to 90% of all women. They occur more often in first pregnancies, the fair-skinned, and the overweight. There is definitely a genetic component so you may not be able to avoid them, but there are things you can do to minimize your risk of itchy pregnancy stretch marks:
1. Keep your weight gain within the guidelines recommended by your obstetrician, to minimize the amount of stretching your skin has to do.
2. Minimize typical dryness and itching with the correct skin care routine, including a stretch marks cream.
As for a good stretch marks cream, generations of mothers have used cocoa butter to try and prevent stretchmarks, but while it is a good moisturizer, there is no research showing a benefit from this ingredient. The only published research on stretchmark prevention showed that a combination of Gotu Kola extract, Vitamin E, and Collagen Hydrolysates decreased the risk of getting stretchmarks by about 39%, and decreased the severity of any stretchmarks that did form. (International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 1991). All of these ingredients can be found in Belli Pregnancy's Elasticity Belly Oil.
Twice weekly, use Belli Pregnancy's Skin Smoothing Body Exfoliator to remove the dry, dead skin cells and expose the fresh skin beneath. Each time you shower, use Belli Pregnancy's Pampered Pregnancy Body Wash which gently cleans and hydrates without stripping your skin of its natural oils. After getting out of the shower, be sure to apply Belli Elasticity Belly Oil and combine with Belli Pregnancy's All Day Moisture Body Lotion which helps lock in your skin's natural moisture - to particularly itchy areas.
The products in the Belli Pregnancy collection are the only skin care products on the market that are teratology screened to avoid ingredients with even remote links to birth defects, so you can rest easy knowing that you are using the safest solutions available.
Technorati Tags: stretch marks cream, itchy pregnancy skin, stretch marks, stretchmark, Belli Pregnancy
you have 0 item(s) in your cart
