Ready for Stretch Marks?

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Wednesday, March 11, 2015 Preventing and Minimizing Stretch Marks No one's "ready" for stretch marks, but up to 90 percent of pregnant women will get them! Stretch marks are tiny tears caused by the overstretching of connective tissue in the skin or by hormones. If your mom had stretch marks, you're likely to have them, too. Here's what you can do to minimize them. Support Your Skin Collagen is a protein that gives your skin (and other tissues) strength. Eating a balanced diet rich in vitamins C and E and zinc may boost your skin's collagen production, and that can reduce the chances you'll get stretch marks. Drink and Move Staying hydrated and maintaining a pregnancy-safe fitness regimen (after consulting your doctor, of course) both help hydrate your skin from the inside and help it retain its elasticity. Use a Topical Product Applying a lotion or cream, like Mederma® Stretch Marks Therapy is great way to keep the surface of your skin soft and supple — and help prevent stretch marks.* Start using it in your second trimester and continue use while breastfeeding: twice a day apply it to your stomach, hips and breasts, and gently massage in a circular motion until fully absorbed. For most women stretch marks are part of pregnancy. UseMederma® Stretch Marks Therapy to help prevent them from forming. Learn more about Mederma® » *Mederma® Stretch Marks Therapy is clinically shown to increase the moisture content of the skin, thereby helping to keep skin more elastic and less apt to tear and form stretch marks.