4 Ways to Avoid Stretch Marks during Pregnancy
Despite men becoming more and more accepting of stretch marks and all their glory lately, most ladies still don’t love them. We can tell ourselves we’ve “earned our stripes” but yet and still, most women would prefer clear skin over zebra skin. We are told that stretch marks are inevitable part of pregnancy for many women based on genetics. Many of us also believe there’s nothing we can do about it. That’s where they’re wrong! There are actually quite a few things you can do while pregnant to avoid attaining long lasting stretch marks no matter what the elasticity of your skin is genetically.
1. Keep Hydrated
When you are pregnant, the volume of blood your body produces is increased. Your body is creating a large water sack for your baby to be housed in and this creates a higher need for hydration. In order for your skin to reach its optimum elasticity you need to make your fluid intake a priority. Pay attention to your body to notice signs of dehydration. Dry lips, inability to focus, fatigue, dry lips and throat are all signs of dehydration. 8-12 full glasses of water each day is recommended depending on how you feel.
2. Change Your Diet
What we eat plays a huge role in your skin’s elasticity. Eating to enrich your skin’s elasticity means keeping healthy levels of omega, vitamins A, C and E. You can do this by introducing more eggs, grass-fed meats, raw whole milk and organic veggies. Not only will this benefit your skin, it’s great for your developing baby too!
3. Gelatin
Gelatin can be used as a preventative measure against stretch marks. Forming collagen is necessary when you want to increase the elasticity of your skin. To do this, you can increase your gelatin intake of your diet. Bone broth is a great source of gelatin and it actually can give your soups and casseroles great flavor. Powdered gelatin is also a great option that you can put in your favorite jello. The great thing about gelatin is it doesn’t only help with your skin’s elasticity; it has countless other benefits for your body as well. It can help heal wounds, promote digestive health and even improve sleep.
4. Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter
Shea and cocoa butter are some of nature’s greatest emollients. These butters naturally encourage the skin renewal process. The nut in shea butter is made from karite tree and is bound to keep your skin hydrated during pregnancy. Cocoa butter will do the same with its natural fatty properties
These are our top 4 tips but there are more where that came from. What has helped you with your stretch marks?
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Written by Stephanie Parker from Sleepingbaby.com, inventors of the Zipadee-Zip
The motto for Sleeping Baby, makers of the Zipadee-Zip, is: "Inspiring Dreams One Night at A time," and that, in a nutshell, is how it all started…with one little dream that has since become the Parker family's reality. When Brett and Stephanie Parker's daughter, Charlotte, was born, the feeling that welled up inside of them was indescribable; they never realized until first looking into those baby blues of hers that they were even capable of that kind of love.
When it was time to transition baby from swaddling, the Parkers tried every sleep sack on the market and every swaddle weaning trick they could find for nearly two weeks and nothing worked to get baby Charlotte to fall and stay asleep.
Stephanie became determined to restore sleep and sanity to their household and set out to find a solution that would soothe Charlotte's startle reflex and provide her the cozy womb-like environment she loved so much but still give her the freedom to roll over and wiggle around in her crib safely. Out of sheer desperation and exhaustion, the Zipadee-Zip was born. The first Zipadee-Zip(R) Stephanie put together on her little sewing machine worked like magic!
To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. It is so rewarding for the Parkers to see other parents and babies getting the sleep they both need and deserve!
Interested in writing a guest blog for Sleeping Baby? Send your topic idea to pr@sleepingbaby.com.
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