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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Pregnancy Battle Scars Guest Post

Combating Pregnancy "Battle Scars:" 3 ways to Prevent Stretch Marks
Becoming a surrogate mother is a magical thing. You get the opportunity to grant someone with a gift that they've longer for their whole lives—a child. But bearing children can take a heavy toll on your body and you can end up getting a gift of your own—deep red cracked lines around your belly. We're talking about stretch marks. According to statistics, more than 75 % of all pregnant women get stretch marks. While some cases are not preventable due to genetics, there are some common ways to help prevent or at least reduce the appearance of some stretch marks. To learn how, continue reading below.
1. Keep Weight on Track. While you're going to gain weight during your pregnancy (it's natural) you want to make sure that you don't gain too much—not only will your skin's elasticity be challenged (which causes the stretch marks) but gaining excess pregnancy weight can be detrimental to the unborn baby. If a surrogate eats poorly and does not exercise, she risks developing gestational diabetes. This disease causes the baby to have an abnormally large head which may cause complications during pregnancy and may cause complications in the child's life as he or she grows older. For example, the child may be more susceptible to becoming obese and acquire high blood pressure. So work to maintain a good diet (this includes drinking tons of water) and exercise plan while you're carrying the child. Both your body and the unborn child will be forever grateful.
2. Exfoliate, Exfoliate, Exfoliate. The act of exfoliation won't help get rid of stretch marks if you already have them, but it can help prevent them from deeply setting into your skin. This is because exfoliation removes the dead, dry skin cells from your body and makes way for fresh skin to grow. Therefore the stretch marks don't get as much as an opportunity to penetrate into your epidermis. While there are tons of exfoliation creams and body scrubs available on the market, it's recommended that your look for one made with natural products such as salt, oatmeal or sugar like our homemade body scrub recipe: (The areas you typically get stretch marks are really sensitive and you don’t want to risk inflammation). 
Ingredients:
·         ¼ white sugar
·         ½ of unscented body lotion
Directions: pour lotion in a large bowl. Using a spoon, slowly stir in sugar until the mixture turns into a thick paste. If the mixture is too runny, add more sugar. Slather mixture onto areas where you do not want to get stretch marks and rub in. Rinse clean for fresh skin.
*extra note: loofa sponges and pumice stones are excellent at exfoliating too
3. Moisturize & Keep Skin Supple. For years beauty experts have vowed that cocoa butter is the key to maintain a stretch mark free body—rubbing it on your stomach two to three times a day throughout pregnancy is suppose to create wonders. While it hasn't been proven that cocoa butter specifically contains a magical ingredient that reduces/prevents the appearance of stretch marks, what is certain however, is that typically those who have moisturized skin will experience less damage than those with extremely dry skin. This is because moisturized skin creates elasticity which helps when your stomach starts expanding. So no matter whether it's cocoa butter, coconut oil, or your regular mill body lotion, keep your stomach moisturized and supple.
Do note that while the tips mentioned above are designed to prevent stretch marks, if you do develop them over time they should fade and reduce their bright color. So don't let their initial appearance consume you.
Author Bio:
This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at onlinecollege about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5 @ gmail.com.





5 comments:

  1. Very insightful post! Me and my girlfriend have been doing research on becoming a surrogate mother and came across your blog. Thank you for all the information you have given.

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  2. Glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate that. :) Good luck!

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  3. becoming a surrogate mother has been at the back of my mind for years now, and now that a close family member just found out she can't bare children I've decided to do it for her!! Your blog helped me learn a lot!

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  4. Thank you very much for that big article.

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Thank you for your comments! I'll try to return the favor.