Pregnancy is a time of overwhelming joy for women. However, there can be a few downsides that can put a damper on this wonderful time in your life. For example, stretch marks are one of the worst consequences of pregnancy.

During pregnancy, your skin will begin to stretch due to weight gain and liquid retention. You may notice that stretch marks appear around the breasts, hips and abdomen. Depending on how much weight you gain, you may also develop stretch marks on your thighs and upper arms.

Here are a few tips to help you prevent and treat stretch marks during and after pregnancy. Also keep in mind that these tips can help you treat stretch marks due to puberty, weight fluctuations, and exercise.

How to Prevent Stretch Marks Before and During Pregnancy

Your doctor may prescribe creams for stretch marks to help your skin adapt to the stretching that occurs during pregnancy. If used properly they will help your skin stretch without breaking.

These creams should be accompanied by a steady weight gain. Keep in mind that even though eating your favorite chocolate cake can be tempting, sudden weight gain will increase your probabilities of developing stretch marks not to mention it may cause health issues that can affect your unborn child.

Don't forget that maintaining a healthy diet can help control your weight gain. Pregnancy is no excuse for eating everything you see since you will only need about 300 calories more per day.

Say NO to overly processed foods and junk foods. These are high in sodium and contain empty calories which will rapidly increase your weight.

Eliminating Pregnancy Stretch Marks

The best option for treating loose skin and stretch marks is plastic surgery. Plastic surgery removes the stretch marks and leaves behind a small scar that can be treated with a special scar cream.

When a person undergoes surgery to remove stretch marks the treatment is usually done on the abdomen and nowhere else. You can remove stretch marks found in other areas of the body by using natural stretch marks creams. These creams can be used to treat extensive areas or smaller ones.

Obviously stretch mark creams are less invasive than surgery, but they do take longer to work. The most effective types of creams are those that contain rose hip oil, snail serum or emu oil. Each one of these ingredients has effectively helped fight stretch marks for years.