Chorevia

Day 121 of 280 · 17 weeks + 2 days

Stretch marks, honestly

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 4 sources · Plain-text version

Seventeen weeks and two days. Up to 8 in 10 women get stretch marks, creams can't prevent them, and they fade. One sentence to keep for the shop.

Size this week
about the size of a pomegranate
Length this week
around 12 cm from head to bottom
A woman with a small bump in a loose linen shirt at a bathroom mirror, one hand on her side, morning light through a frosted window, nothing on the counter.

Seventeen weeks and two days. A short, honest note about skin, and about the money people will try to take from you over it.

Your baby

A whole red pomegranate on a plain pale wooden board, soft window light.

Around 12cm from head to bottom, roughly the size of a pomegranate (NHS). Your baby now has unique fingerprints, which differ even between identical twins, and fingernails are starting to grow (NHS).

Your body

Stretch marks affect up to 8 in 10 women, and they usually fade to silver after birth (NHS). Most pregnant women get them on the belly, some on the breasts, hips, and buttocks; they may look red, brown, or purple, and they usually fade after delivery (MedlinePlus). They usually appear in the second half of pregnancy (OWH). The honest part: lotions and oils cannot really prevent them, though avoiding excessive weight gain can lower the risk (MedlinePlus).

Other skin changes are hormonal: brownish or yellowish patches on the face (chloasma, the "mask of pregnancy") and a dark line down the lower abdomen (linea nigra). Sunlight can darken both, so a hat, protective clothing, and sunblock help, and most color changes fade within a few months after birth (MedlinePlus). Hair and nails may grow faster and feel stronger for now; many women lose some hair after delivery, and both return to normal over time (MedlinePlus).

Try today

  1. The stretch-mark truth

    Time: 5 minutes

    1. Write one sentence for the day someone sells you a cream. Something like: "Lotions can't prevent stretch marks, and they usually fade after birth." Both halves are MedlinePlus's (MedlinePlus).

    2. Put it in your phone notes, so it's there in the shop.

    3. If you want a moisturiser anyway, choose an unperfumed one; perfumed products are the ones to avoid on itchy skin (MedlinePlus). Buy it for the comfort, not the promise.

    Make it work:

    The sentence works on relatives too.

Watch for

  • Normal

    itchy skin; about 20 percent of pregnant women feel itchy, and it typically resolves after delivery (OWH).

    Call your provider

    before taking an antihistamine for it (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    an itch that comes with dry, stretching skin.

    Call your provider

    about persistent itching without a rash, because it may indicate cholestasis (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    darker patches on the face and a line down the belly (MedlinePlus).

    Seek care immediately

    for changes in your vision, which is on the CDC's list of urgent warning signs (CDC).

For you

"Be patient," the Office on Women's Health says; stretch marks and other changes usually fade after delivery (OWH). Most skin, hair, and nail changes in pregnancy are normal and resolve afterward (MedlinePlus). That's the whole forecast, and no product changes it.

If the marks bother you anyway, that's allowed. Patience is advice for the skin, not a rule about how you're supposed to feel. The one thing in your control, the sources say, is the pace of weight gain (MedlinePlus), and you looked at that on day 118.

If you're the partner: nobody wants a review of their skin. If she brings it up, the useful sentence is the one she wrote today.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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