Whether you call them battle scars, tiger stripes or love lines, stretch marks are the result of the magnificent work our bodies do when growing our babies.
But that’s not to say that preventing pregnancy stretch marks isn’t something most new mums-to-be think about once the excitement of the positive pregnancy test has sunk in. In fact, talking to our mummy friends, most of us are guilty of googling this pretty early on!
Of course, when we’re incubating a baby, our bodies go through some major changes, not least rapid weight gain and a changing body shape which are the main causes of stretch marks. They’re most often seen on the stomach, breasts, hips and buttocks and look like pinkish streaks that fade to white over time.
We spoke to dermatologist Dr. Lian Mack who explained that stretch marks happen when there’s a “disruption of collagen and elastin in the dermis.” Essentially this means the elastin fibres that allow our skin to stretch reach their maximum capacity and end up snapping, leaving a scar.