Why does a stripe appear on the stomach during pregnancy?

What it is

A dark stripe seems to connect the navel and pubis. For some girls it stretches up to the diaphragm. Every person has such a stripe, but it is not noticeable at all. It is called the “white line”.

With normal hormone levels, the stripe on the stomach does not appear during pregnancy. In the last trimester, the uterus stretches, the skin over it becomes thinner and more transparent. Therefore, any changes become more noticeable, bright, and rich.

Darkening occurs due to increased pigmentation, which occurs due to hormonal changes. It is observed in 90% of expectant mothers. It is more pronounced in dark-haired girls.

Interestingly, with repeated or multiple gestations, the stripe becomes noticeable earlier and has a more saturated color. It also disappears for a long time after the baby is born.

When hormone levels return to normal, the skin will take on a natural tone.

Causes

The main reason for the appearance of a dark stripe on the stomach during pregnancy is hormonal changes. Level up:

• estrogen;
• progesterone:
• somatotropin;
• melanotropin.

Melanotropin especially increases pigmentation. This is a hormone that provokes the production of melanocytes - special cells that promote pigmentation.

Somatotropin is actively produced in girls and young women. Then the amount decreases, but increases with the onset of pregnancy. Its action is aimed at muscle growth.

Over time, the baby's growth pushes the muscles adjacent to the growing uterus apart. The place where they meet in the abdominal region and the skin above it becomes thinner and wider. The intensity of the color depends on the number of melanocytes.

There are no other reasons.

How to prevent streaks during pregnancy (5 tips)

Fortunately for many women interested in this issue, such options exist. At the very least, you can make the stripe not so pronounced.

The main reason for the darkening of the vertical area, extending from the navel to the pubis, is the increased synthesis of melanocytes. This largely depends on the amount of vitamin D entering the body, the main source of which is the sun.

Therefore, adhere to the following recommendations:

1. During pregnancy, it is undesirable to frequently be exposed to direct sunlight, especially if the second and third trimesters fall in the summer season. For sunbathing, 30 minutes a day will be enough. Excess ultraviolet radiation is harmful in any case, as it promotes the activation of cancer cells.
2. Every time you visit the beach, you need to use sunscreens and lotions with an SPF of at least 15. Just choose products that are not contraindicated during pregnancy, so as not to harm yourself and your unborn child.
3. You should not go outside at noon, when solar activity is greatest, or try to stay in the shade more. This not only increases pigmentation, but can also cause much more serious pathologies.
4. It is recommended to avoid visiting the solarium. Although the harm of this procedure has not been 100% proven, it is better not to take unnecessary risks. In addition, this will minimize the appearance of a dark streak.
5. Despite the desire to always look fashionable and attractive, you should not expose yourself too much. It is better to wear light but closed clothing.

These tips don't mean you should avoid sunlight completely. Otherwise, vitamin D deficiency will inevitably occur in the body, which is harmful for pregnant women.

When appears

This is a physiological process, so each girl can experience it at different stages of gestation. It is worth noting that in some expectant mothers this line does not appear at all.

A pigment stripe on the abdomen during pregnancy usually appears in the 2nd or 3rd trimester. If a woman is expecting twins or triplets, it becomes noticeable in the 2nd half of the 1st trimester.

The darkening goes away on its own after the baby is born. A woman is not recommended to be exposed to sunlight for a long time - ultraviolet radiation stimulates pigmentation.

Is it dangerous

Skin pigmentation does not pose a risk to the health of the fetus or woman. This is an exclusively cosmetic defect that appears only externally.

Often girls do not know at what time a stripe appears on the stomach. And after it darkens, they begin to be afraid. This is completely normal and safe for the baby's development.

Folk remedies

Folk remedies for age spots

To reduce the severity of pigmentation on the abdomen, you can resort to the use of folk remedies. With regular use, they will help whiten the skin without harming the body of the expectant mother and child.

To reduce the intensity of the color of the stripe on the stomach, you can use natural lemon or cranberry juice. They wipe problem areas of the skin several times a day. Sweet pepper may be used. A puree is made from it, which is applied daily to a strip on the stomach for 30 minutes.

A mask consisting of ground parsley and cucumber is useful. The freshly prepared mixture is applied to the problem area and kept for 20 minutes. To obtain a whitening effect, the use of fermented milk products is allowed. A piece of gauze is soaked in kefir or yogurt, and then applied to the strip for half an hour. After such procedures, it is recommended to apply a nourishing cream to the skin.

To get rid of increased pigmentation, lotions made from yarrow infusion are useful. To prepare it, pour a teaspoon of herbs into 255 ml of boiling water. This mixture should brew for half an hour, after which it should be strained through a strainer. A cotton pad is moistened in the resulting infusion, and the darkened skin is carefully wiped with it. This procedure is repeated daily for several months.

Prevention

There is no prevention for the appearance of a brown stripe on the abdomen during pregnancy. It manifests itself only under the influence of hormones and is associated with an increase in the volume of a woman. There are only useful recommendations that will help prevent increased pigmentation.

1. Avoid being in the sun for a long time, especially from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is the active phase. Sunlight promotes the production of melanotropin. But during gestation it is already produced in large quantities.
2. In summer, use sunscreen. You should choose one with a maximum protection level of SPF 50.
3. Do not wear revealing clothes. In this case, we are talking about not being naked and not exposing the skin to increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

After childbirth, the line will return to white and inconspicuous. Each woman will need a different period of time for this. But a young mother should follow useful recommendations:

• exclude the consumption of strong coffee, tea, and fatty meat from the diet;
• increase consumption of foods that contain folic acid.

Vitamin deficiency in the body can also stimulate pigmentation. Therefore, you should eat plenty of fresh fruits and green vegetables every day. Rosehip and lemon tea will be beneficial.

How to avoid a dark line on your stomach

In addition to hormonal changes during pregnancy, there are factors that increase skin darkening. If a woman is worried that a line will not appear, it is important to adhere to the following rules:

1. It is necessary to avoid direct sunlight on the stomach. Ultraviolet radiation promotes the appearance of hyperpigmentation, which directly affects the brightness of the stripe. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid solariums and visits to the beach.
2. If you want to sunbathe, be sure to apply sunscreen to the skin in the abdominal area.
3. It is recommended to visit a cosmetologist and undergo gentle peeling.
4. Change your diet towards cutting down on fatty foods and adding fresh vegetables and fruits. Plant foods have a beneficial effect on the condition of the gastrointestinal tract and skin.

If you don’t want to visit beauty salons, then it’s better to use homemade and safe methods to prevent severe darkening of the skin:

1. Soda peeling. Ordinary baking soda cleanses oily skin well and removes excessive shine. Directions for use: Lather the belly with a daily care product and add a pinch of calcium bicarbonate. The mixture should be kept for several minutes and then rinsed off with running water. It is better to repeat the procedure 1-2 times a week so as not to dry out the skin.
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2. Cleaning with baby soap and sugar. You need to thoroughly lather your belly with baby care product, and pour a teaspoon of sugar on top. Rub the mixture onto the skin using gentle massaging movements with your fingertips. After 5 minutes, you can wash it off under running water. The procedure should be repeated no more than 2 times a week.

3. A simple but effective method using cucumber. The fresh vegetable is separated from the peel, and the white pulp is crushed and the juice is squeezed out. Next, mix a tablespoon of oatmeal with 10 g of sea salt. Then the three components are evenly mixed and distributed over the skin of the abdomen. For a softening effect, you can add a few drops of rose petal essential oil. The mixture is distributed with massaging movements for several minutes and then washed off. You need to repeat the procedure once a week.

4. Egg mask. The crushed egg shell is mixed with a tablespoon of fat sour cream and an egg. The mixture must be whipped in a blender to obtain a homogeneous mass. Then it is spread over the skin and left for 10 minutes. After which the egg mixture is washed off under running water. You can repeat the procedure 2 times a week.

5. Kefir mask. Fat kefir is applied to the stomach and distributed evenly. When the kefir dries, you can roll it with your fingers and wash off the residue. Kefir does not have a drying effect on the skin, so the mask should be applied every other day.

It is important to remember that during pregnancy, an unexpected skin reaction may occur to home cleaning and care methods, which is explained by hormonal changes. Before using folk remedies, you should consult a doctor or cosmetologist.

What does it mean

There is a popular belief that a line on the abdomen during pregnancy allows one to determine the sex of the child. According to this, the light color of the stripe that reaches the navel indicates that the woman is a girl in the womb.

If the line has an intense dark color and stretches to the ribs, a boy will be born. Naturally, there is no scientific confirmation of such assumptions and the sex of the child can only be determined by ultrasound. Therefore, the expectant mother independently determines whether to believe in them or not.

It is important to consider that the Belly Strip during pregnancy is not magical and has a scientific explanation. During gestation, the production of hormones increases in a woman’s body. For this reason, the white line that every person has begins to turn brown or dark in color.

A stripe on the stomach during pregnancy is a common occurrence and does not pose a health hazard. It is triggered by hormonal changes. Dark-haired women have a more intense color.

Appears after approximately 23 weeks of gestation. There is no need to worry, as this is a natural physiological phenomenon.

The material was prepared specifically for the website kakrodit.ru, edited by doctor M.L. Pavlenko. Specialty: obstetrician-gynecologist of the highest category.