[mum2be]

Can someone recommend a good cream/oil to prevent stretch marks? I've been given some Prenatol cream from my Dr. Its made by Wyeth. Anyone else use this?

Thanks

[rani]

Welcome Mum2Be.

I was told to use Vitamin E cream which applied religously. But I did get a couple of stretch marks towards the very end of my pregnancy. I heard that some people are more prone to stretch marks than others.

[Mona]

My doctor recommended the use of a lotion or cream with vitamin E and to be applied at least twice daily for prevention of the stretch marks.

I would recommend Palmer's Brand Cocoa Butter Formula Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks with Vitamin E, Collagen & Elastin. I brought it from Watson's and found that it's non-greasy, keeps my skin very smooth and so far no stretch marks.

[JennyB]

According to "The Girlfriends' guide to pregnancy" by Vicki Iovine, "The only sure way to guarantee that you won't get stretch marks is to make sure you are born to a woman who didn't get them, and whose mother didn't get them either." Elsewhere I have read that stopping your skin drying out by applying creams - any good moisturising cream - can help, but won't stop you getting them if you have a genetic predisposition, and some women will be lucky enough to avoid stretch marks without using creams.

[Cyndi]

You can try the "Stretch to limit" oil/cream which you can get from Frederque and Seed.

I gathered from the others that the oil actually works better then the cream. Since I have got both of them, so I'm using the cream in the morning and the oil in the evening. So far so good!

Good luck.

[lenima]

Don't forget, the main area to worry about are the sides!! I mean stretch marks will most likely appear at the sides of your belly, low at your waist/hips, so concentrate your lotion or cream there! This might be obvious to some (or everyone but me), but in my first pregnancy, I only seriously put lotion on the center of my belly, since that's where the brown lines showed during the pregnancy, but these brown lines actually disappear eventually, they are not the stretch marks (shiny ripple marks, sometimes purplish) that come on the sides, and which are permanent (though they fade compared to right after giving birth).

I am now using the pot of "Body Butter" (cocoa butter) which you can get at Body Shop. Hopefully I can prevent more stretch marks in this second pregnancy!

Doris

[twinkle]

Exfoliate regularly and keep your skin moisturized. Like everyone says, there's no way of preventing them completely if you have a genetic predisposition to them, but you can certainly minimize them.

I tried all kinds of creams in my first pregnancy. I liked Burt's Bees Apricot Baby oil. It makes your skin so soft and smooth, and helps keep the elasticity so you can bounce back after your pregnancy. I have just started using Origins - A Perfect World. It's definately one of the best creams I've ever used. The problem is, I'm not a huge fan of the white tea smell.

All said and done, I still got a few stretch marks during my first pregnancy, but so far, I haven't noticed any for this pregnancy.

[loupou]

Why do so many of us worry about them?

I kind of like my stretchmarks. Now that my kids are in school, looking at the skids on my belly reminds me of when they were inside and makes me smile.