Long after your baby has been born, one physical reminder of the changes that occurred in your body throughout pregnancy is your stretch marks. They’re also called tiger stripes, lightning stripes, or stretchies. Whatever pet names women who have given birth assign to it, stretch marks are naturally occurring scars that have gotten a bad rap and have been a struggle for moms like you.

But you don’t have to look at them in a negative way. In fact, we feel that they should be a badge of honor for you. After all, you’ve done something incredible: giving birth!

In this blog, let’s take a closer look at what stretch marks are, why they happen, and why you should never feel bad about them.

 

What are stretch marks, exactly?

Stretch marks are a form of scarring. When your skin undergoes stretching over a short period of time, stretch marks appear.

Dermal scarring of the dermis due to rapid weight gain or loss occurs in pregnancy, obesity, or even during puberty. Hormonal changes during pregnancy also contribute to the appearance of stretch marks in the bodies of moms-to-be.

They most often appear on your stomach, thighs, hips, breasts, upper arms, lower back, and buttocks.

 

What do stretch marks look like and how do they feel on your skin?

Stretch marks appear as indented lines or streaks that vary in length or width. They have a different color and texture than your skin. Depending on your skin tone, stretch marks range in color from purple, pink, red, bluish, dark brown, light grey, or whitish. 

When you touch your stretch marks, they feel slightly sunken or depressed skin, like ridges on your skin. You may feel skin itching or irritation when stretch marks start to show in your body.

 

Why do you get stretch marks when you’re pregnant?

You can attribute this simply to your skin stretching to accommodate the baby growing inside you. In fact, by the third trimester of pregnancy, nearly 9 out of 10 women develop stretch marks on their abdomen and breasts. And while your abdomen and breasts shrink in size after you give birth, the stretch marks remain.

But as we mentioned above, you need not worry when you see stretch marks on your body. They are naturally occurring and are often a part of your pregnancy journey. Over time, stretch marks will become less visible and noticeable.

Can stretch marks affect my health and that of my baby’s?

Stretch marks do not hurt, but they may cause skin irritation or itching. Stretch marks are also not contagious and cannot be passed on from you to your baby or your spouse or partner.  

Stretch marks also do not pose any medical concerns for you and your baby.

 

Is there a treatment for stretch marks?

While they are naturally occurring, you, like plenty of other women, may feel bothered enough by the stretch marks to seek ways to minimize their appearance. 

What you can do is can prepare your body for pregnancy and the changes that come along with it by eating a balanced diet. Include food that promotes healthy skin such as those that contain zinc (nuts and fish).

Load up on carrots, citrus fruits, and milk to get the benefits of vitamins A, C, and D for your skin. Make lentils, beans, broccoli, lean beef and chicken, or other protein-rich food part of your pregnancy diet.

Regular exercise and staying hydrated is also a good way of keeping your skin healthy throughout pregnancy. Just make sure you discuss exercise with your doctor for you and your baby’s optimal health.

After the birth of your newborn, you may want to seek medical intervention to fast-track minimizing the visibility of your stretch marks, especially if it is causing you severe emotional distress or you begin to feel insecure about your body. A dermatologist will be able to recommend options to reduce the visibility of your stretch marks.

These may include prescription retinol or tretinoin creams, laser therapy, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, ultrasound, radiofrequency, or microneedling. Keep in mind though that these options can only improve the appearance of your stretch marks. It will not completely eliminate stretch marks on your skin. 

These particular procedures should also be explored postpartum to protect your baby’s health from possible side effects.

 

What is the general feeling about stretch marks?

How women feel about their personal stretch marks varies. Some don’t mind them, but we bet that a higher percentage of women feel insecure about them.

These feelings are influenced by how society perceives stretch marks. Realistically speaking, the message that pregnant women get is that stretch marks are unappealing and undesirable. Societal expectations are that women need to live up to a certain standard of beauty and having stretch marks reduces women’s worth.

This has led women to feel disgusted and disappointed over their bodies’ appearance during pregnancy and postpartum. Women who see stretch marks zigzagging throughout their bodies may also have feelings of inadequacy, especially when the realities and demands of motherhood all pile up.  

 

How can you make stretch marks feel more positive?

If you want to flip the script on the negativity of stretch marks, you should know that you’re not alone. An increasing number of women are taking back control of their stretch mark narratives. Nowadays, there is more acceptance in stretch marks in the way that they look on you, and how it makes you more beautiful in your own unique way.

Some women are now also choosing to see the stretch marks on their stomachs, breasts, thighs, arms, or buttocks as symbols of strength. Women who refer to stretch marks as tiger stripes do so because it makes them feel fierce.

A beautiful narrative comes from a mom who likens her stretch marks to waves in the ocean. It makes sense to her that just as we all go through waves in life, the stretch marks permanently etched on her body are symbolic of that wave of pregnancy and childbirth. Instead of seeing stretch marks negatively, she considers them a blessing.

 

What if you need more support about your stretch marks?

Your body is going through a lot of changes during pregnancy and even after childbirth. The stretch marks that will appear on your body is just an example.

As a result of the changes, you may get feelings that are hard to sort through and understand with everything that is happening.

Having a doula by your side can help you. She can provide you with the emotional and informational support that you need to deal with the changes that your body will go through and the pregnancy scars that stay long after you have given birth.

Let Doulas of the Valley be there for you. We will provide you with deeply personal, sensitive, and non-judgmental informational, physical, and emotional support to help come to terms with the changes in your body during and after pregnancy.

If you are having problems or feel conflicted about your stretch marks, or would like to have a more positive outlook about it, give us a ring.

Let’s help you get through it.