Have you been recently informed, after a lab test, that you are to expect a 'bundle of joy' soon? And have you found yourself, while happy about this expected baby, worried about the disfiguring effect pregnancy is likely to have on you, and the stretch marks it could leave in its wake? Well, if you have, then you could find information on treatments that have been known to help in the prevention of skin marks during pregnancy edifying.

But even before we get into the treatments that can help in the prevention of stretch marks during pregnancy, it would be worthy noting that a pregnancy is not an automatic sentence for skin marks, as many people assume. Depending on how your pregnancy progresses (especially how you gain weight and how the weight is distributed during your pregnancy), you may not have a single stretch mark at the end of it all. This is especially the case if you happen to have a highly elastic skin - and your skin's elasticity is something you can do something about -as it is affected by a number of factors within control. You may therefore find comfort in knowing that between10 % and 25% of all women who get pregnant don't experience stretch marks.

1) Turning back to the treatments that can help in the prevention of skin marks during pregnancy, we would have one of them being hydrolysates from collagen-elastin. In a properly controlled (and well documented) clinical study involving the use of a cream with the said collagen-elastic hydrolysates, it was observed that women who used the said cream during their pregnancy did not skin marks formed on them -as opposed to women who did not use the said cream. The exact mechanism through which collagen-elastin hydrolysates prevent the formation of stretch marks during pregnancy is probably through the fact that it raises the elasticity limits of the skin. Thus the skin is able to withstanding the rapid growth that comes with pregnancy without strain (and tearing), and thus without the formation of skin marks.

2) The second treatment that can help in the prevention of stretch marks during pregnancy is the extract from the plant known as centella asiatica. This was from the observations of a clinical study, where a cream containing the said extract was seen to prevent the formation of skin marks in expectant mothers who used it. Incidentally, this would be only one of the beneficial effects of this highly versatile herb.

3) The third treatment that can help in the prevention of stretch marks during pregnancy is vitamin E, also known as tocopherol in scientific circles. In a clinical study, expectant mothers who used a cream containing vitamin E were did not to have skin marks formed on them, as opposed to women who just used a 'placebo' of the said cream.

Thankfully, there are many stretch mark prevention creams that contain all these substances together, so that you don't have to go looking for them individually.