After giving birth to four kids, my mom had zero stretch marks. Genetically, she is predisposed to not get them.

Lucky her! I was not as fortunate.

Another reason people get stretch marks is that they put on weight too quickly causing the the skin to fragment into markets.

Women with a healthy BMI might gain between 25 to 35 pounds over the course of a pregnancy, it’s hard for our skin to keep up.

Another reason people acquire stretch marks while pregnant is the hormones that are abundant during pregnancy contribute to them.

They are really hard to avoid if you are not genetically predisposed to not them. If you didn’t get them during your growth spurt during puberty, you may get them later.

Creams can help make the skin more supple to slow down their onset or lessen the darkness of them when they do arrive.

But none can help you avoid them.

One can slow the onset of stretch marks appealing by talking to the doctor or dietician about how to gain steady and moderate weight.

Once you develop them, laser therapy can help stretch marks to fade although it can’t remove them completely and typically several treatments are required. Most insurers don’t pay the cost and is usually very expensive.

The other alternative is just to embrace and accept them. Tiger stripes are par for course and the baby at the end!