Stretch marks are a normal skin change during pregnancy, caused by the rapid stretching of skin as the body grows to accommodate a developing baby. They typically appear as pink, red, or purple streaks on the abdomen, breasts, hips, or thighs, and are addressed in the FAQ resources provided by Merrion Fetal Health, a specialist obstetric ultrasound clinic in Dublin. While no treatment is proven to prevent them entirely, keeping skin moisturised and maintaining steady weight gain are commonly recommended strategies. Merrion Fetal Health offers a full range of pregnancy scans — from early scans at 6–11 weeks through to post-dates assessments at 40 weeks and beyond — providing expectant mothers with both clinical monitoring and reassurance throughout pregnancy.
- The provided content is almost entirely raw PHP/shortcode builder markup from a Divi WordPress page. The actual article text about stretch marks is not present in the content — only page builder code, scan service menu items, and patient testimonials are visible. There are no factual claims about stretch marks (no statistics, dates, named researchers, clinical definitions, or treatment information) from which to extract concrete, verifiable bullet points.
- I cannot fabricate statistics or facts that do not appear in the source material.**
- To produce accurate Key Takeaways, please provide the actual article body text — the written content explaining what stretch marks are, when they occur during pregnancy, how common they are, what causes them, and any treatment or prevention information. Once that text is supplied, I will extract exactly 5–7 properly formatted Key Takeaways drawn only from facts stated in the article.
Pregnancy-what are stretch marks?
Stretch Marks FAQs
What are stretch marks?
These are narrow, hypopigmented (but they can be pink, red, brown or purple in the beginning) and depressed stripes that appear on the skin´s surface (most commonly on the abdomen) in late stages of gestation due to the rapidly expanding belly that develops to make space for the growing baby. Other locations of these stretch marks are the hips, buttocks, upper arms, thighs and breasts.
What causes stretch marks?
Stretch marks appear due to the skin becoming suddenly stretched by pregnancy, especially in multifetal gestations, being pregnant with a big baby or having excessive amniotic fluid.
Other causes include puberty, fast weight gain and/or loss, some medical conditions like Marfan or Cushing´s syndrome, family history of stretch marks. Some athletes can develop stretch marks from bulging muscles.
Why does pregnancy promotes the appearance of stretch marks?
During gestation, your body produces oestrogen and progesterone, which soften the ligaments located in your pelvis for major flexibility. But at the same time, these also soften the skin fibres, promoting the development of stretch marks.
Do all pregnant women get stretch marks?
No, but in general more than 50% of women will develop stretch marks. It depends mostly on your skin type and its elasticity, and if you have some of the factors stated above.
What can I do to prevent stretch marks?
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do. There are no creams, salves, and oils that have enough proof to prevent stretch marks. Ask your dermatologist for some recommendations on how to manage these.
Will my stretch marks ever go away?
They can become considerably less noticeable about 6 months to a year after childbirth, but do not always disappear completely. Their texture will remain the same. The changes are mostly seen in their pigmentation, which fades, becoming lighter than the rest of the skin (depending on your skin colour).
Testimonials
What Our Patients Say
POPULAR SECTIONS
About The Clinic
About The Consultants
About The Team
Book Your Scan
Common Concerns
FAQs - Your Questions
GP Referral Scheme
Health Conditions
Healthy Pregnancy
Medical Studies
Patients' Information
Pregnancy Diary
Pregnancy Magazines
Scans & Services
Susan's Trimesters
Videos By Consultants
Midwife sonographer facilitated
Consultant Led, Centre of Medical Excellence
DISCLAIMER
All articles on the blog and website are intended as information only. Please do not consider any of the information provided here as a substitute for medical advice. At all times seek medical advice directly with your own doctor and medical team.
ANNOUNCEMENT
This website was formerly Merrion Fetal Health. The clinic has undergone a rebrand and is now known as Merrion Ultrasound.