When did your stretch marks appear?

[Cinai]

Just wondering if there is a point in pregnancy where you can be sure that stretch marks won’t get worse anymore / appear at all.

I had no idea that they can appear after birth!

None the first time, went over 41 weeks. Second time I got them at 38 weeks but they have gone now as they were purple rather than broken skin.

This is helpful for me to read. I'm 35 weeks with second baby and got none with my first, but she was breech and maybe never being engaged at the end like people are saying made a difference?

This time I've had one little one pop up but it's under a couple of keyhole surgery scars I didn't have last time - wondering if the skin there just doesn't have the stretch it does elsewhere? I'm hoping I don't get loads more.

I second everyone saying they got them post partum! When my milk came in I got a lot of stretch marks on my poor boobs. They aren't very visible now but I do wish in hindsight that I'd kept using the bio oil, and I'll be doing so this time.

Silly question maybe - what’s wrong with stretch marks? My mum has been absolutely obsessed with them, I can’t tell you how many times she’s told me to moisturise the bump (no matter how many times I tell her they’re genetic!). But what’s the problem with getting them?

I didn’t have any all the way through and had been applying bio oil every night since 12 weeks. Hit 38 weeks and they suddenly were just there one day. I thought I was in the clear! Sometimes can show up when bump drops

I didn't get any in pregnancy but.....

I had already got some on my thighs and boobs in puberty, and I was thin!

Genetics and hormones are as much in play as size and stretch.

I’ve never had any in 3 pregnancies and 5 years of breast feeding . I’ve never moisturised or anything like that so it must be genetic . I had big bumps and HUGE boobs so it’s nothing to do with not gaining much weight in pregnancy.

Second trimester, I’m not fussed, they're a nice reminder of what my body is doing! I already had them from puberty anyhow…

I got 6 at 10 weeks, then I miscarried at 12 weeks. I got a road map of them at about 16 weeks with ds1, then a few more higher up with ds2. None with ds3, a load more with ds4, none with ds5.

I got them all in the last ten weeks. Under my breasts, my stomach and thighs. I went from very slim to really big in my first pregnancy. I've now had 4 children and with my others I didn't gain any extra, they were all from my first pregnancy. They used to really bother me when I was younger but now they have faded to silvery white. I'm a woman who's had 4 kids and I've accepted my body for what it is.

Hi - both times fairly late on, about 32-35 weeks thereabouts, but I did find that first time round a) they faded quickly (unlike those with puberty that lasted forever) and b) when pregnancy/breastfeeding was over, they responded really well to retinoids so I’m hoping that this second pregnancy is the same! Roll on delivery 🤞🏻

Well, I suppose it depends on your point of view. Medically they are harmless but aesthetically they are very ugly and potentially you'd never be able to wear a bikini again or cropped tops that show your tummy or cleavage etc. My stretch marks were very bad. All over my stomach and right up past my belly button. I had my son 47 years ago and although they've faded, they are still clearly visible and my skin is wrinkled. There isn't a woman alive who actually wants stretch marks, any more than someone would want a scar and most women are disappointed when they get them. I unfortunately had an extreme example but some women just get a few and are still able to wear what they like. I expect your Mum was understandably pissed off about hers and she's trying to be helpful to her daughter.

Edited to add that I was embarrassed by the mess my post partum stomach was in when getting undressed in front of my husband. I'd had rather a nice body before that and I was rather mortified.

Sorry to split hairs @ginasevern but ‘you'd never be able to wear a bikini again or cropped tops that show your tummy or cleavage etc’ is simply not true.

Anyone who wants to wear a bikini can wear one. They might be overweight or underweight or covered in birthmarks or stretch marks. They might only have one leg. Or no legs. They might have cystic acne all over their back. Any one of them can wear whatever they like.

Yes, that's absolutely true and I was totally incorrect in my assertion. Of course any woman can wear whatever she chooses and should be able to do so without shame or judgement. I should have qualified my comment by saying that, in my experience, many women would prefer not to wear clothes that reveal their stretch marks or scars etc, especially if they are particularly striking and noticeable. I think the sale of products and cosmetic procedures to reduce or hide scars, acne, birthmarks and stretch marks for example bear testament to that. As well as the many women who attend weight loss classes and use injections to control weight. Many women are very comfortable in their own bodies no matter how they are conventionally perceived, but I would suggest that many more are not.

Many aren’t comfortable and that’s a real shame. The great thing is that the older you get, the less fucks you give in my experience.

I find it sad that capitalism tells us we need to be beautiful and points out all the things that are wrong with us and we go ‘Oh ok, I’ll try’ and proceed to spend ££££ on products and procedures, instead of going ‘Um, no, I don’t need to be beautiful, thank you. I’m fine as I am’.

Anyway. I have stretch marks as well as acne scars on my back, and wear bikinis as and when I feel like it 🤷🏼‍♀️

I got so many once I had given birth it's unreal I had some in the 3rd trimester that I could of lived with but the ones after birth have destroyed me

I had twins and didn't get any, I swear by using bio oil every day 💐 congratulations xx

I didn’t get any, I used vitamin E oil on my stomach twice a day religiously but my mother, aunt and sister didn’t get any either so whether the oil helped or it was down to genetics who knows!

It's genetics in terms of skin the and size/positioning of baby . I used so much bio I nearly slipped out of bed like a greased pig and I still got marks.

I’ll had none until afterwards! I think it was due to my c section tbh, they seem to be in line with my scar.