How to Prevent Noticeable Stretch Marks When You're Pregnant with Multiples

If you've been pregnant, currently are pregnant, or know someone who's been pregnant, you've likely heard about, or experienced, the stretch mark scarring that can develop as a result of a rapidly growing belly.

This is because anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of people who are pregnant will develop stretch marks.

But did you also know that stretch marks can appear due to rapid weight loss? Some people who go their entire pregnancy without developing any stretch marks are surprised to suddenly see them appear a day or two after giving birth.

Whether the stretch marks, or striae gravidarum, develop during or after pregnancy, there are differing treatment options. The first option is to do nothing and see if they fade on their own in the first six to 12 months after your pregnancy.

Or, if you want to take action sooner than that, treating stretch marks soon after their appearance can help to lessen their visibility. In this case, your options range from surgeries such as laser skin resurfacing or dermabrasion, to chemical peels with an exfoliating agent like glycolic acid, to blue light therapy, microneedling, or the repeated use of retinol creams (expect six months of regular use of these topical medication creams, which are derived from vitamin A, before you notice results).

Or, you might be able to prevent stretch marks entirely by staying hydrated and promoting the elasticity of your skin throughout your pregnancy and in the postpartum period after you give birth.

Stretching to accommodate multiple babies

We found out we were expecting twins when I was 13 weeks along, but my mom, who had carried my twin brother and I decades earlier, secretly wondered if I was expecting twins when she saw how quickly my belly was growing based on how far along I was.

It was my first pregnancy, and at no point before we knew we were having twins did it cross my mind that I could actually be carrying twins. I just knew that I was growing every week and finally had what I thought was a little bump showing, so I was pleased with that.

Meanwhile, my mom had had three pregnancies (two singletons, and then her twins), so when she saw me four days before the ultrasound that detected we had two babies on the way, her twintuition started tingling.

I told her later that a little heads-up on her surreptitious suspicions would have been nice, so there was less of a surprise when the technician showed us the sonogram and instantly asked us if we could see what she saw (read: two babies, not just one).

I went into detail about how the baby was curled up and that we could see his little leg (we already knew it was a boy based on the bloodwork we'd gotten back two days prior—and spoiler alert: that test told us there was ONLY ONE FETUS IN THERE, which is why we were floored when the sonogram clearly showed there were two.

The sonographer flipped back and forth between the two babies again, and that's when my husband said, "It's twins," and she wholeheartedly agreed.

All of this is to say that the second we knew we were having twins, a mental switch flipped. We were no longer in a sweet and lazy countdown to 40 weeks; we instantly shifted into high-gear planning mode in order to have everything ready before our twins inevitably arrived earlier than expected.

And thank goodness we found out we were having multiple babies BEFORE we bought all the baby gear we'd need, which we'd planned to do one week later. If you're wondering what you actually need two of if you're having twins, you can read all about that here.

With two little ones inside of my belly, I knew my body was going to get even bigger to accommodate double the babies and double the sacs. In my case, there was still only one placenta (hello, identicals!), but it was so large, they actually thought it was two separate placentas until my 20-week scan.

Either way, I knew I had to prepare for the now very real possibility of stretch marks, as they're more common for mothers who are carrying multiple babies.

Yes, the possibility was real before it was twins, too, but the physical changes your body goes through when you've got two babies on board are, shall we say, more pronounced than with a single-baby pregnancy.

Gain pregnancy weight slowly and steadily

On average, by the time you reach 30 weeks' gestation with twins, you're already measuring the same size as a full-term mama of a single baby. And while most sets of twins tend to arrive early, you would, from that point, still, hopefully, have up to six weeks of growing time left to go.

It's during the last trimester, when your twins are packing on the pounds, that you're most likley to develop stretch marks. And with that growing comes continued weight gain and the stretching of the skin on your abdomen, your hips, your butt, your thighs, and your breasts (a properly-fitting, supportive maternity bra can help in this area).

While someone who's carrying a single baby generally puts on somewhere in the ballpark of 10 to 15 kilograms (22 to 33 pounds), someone who's carrying twins will put on somewhere in the vicinity of 16 to 20 kilograms (35 to 44 pounds).

Keep in mind, these amounts are a general guideline, so you'll want to talk to your primary health care provider or OB-GYN to determine the correct weight gain range for your particular pregnancy and your specific body type. Whatever that number ends up being, gaining weight slowly and steadily can be a factor in helping to prevent your chances of developing stretch marks.

Other factors that can contribute to your chance of developing stretch marks can include:

• Being a younger woman It's more common for younger women than older women to develop stretch marks.
• Having a family history of female family members developing striae If your mother or sister got stretch marks, your genetics may be part of the reason you could be more likely to get them, too.
• How strong your core muscles are If you have strong abdominal muscles, you may be able to better-handle the increasing weight of your ever-expanding uterus, putting less stress and pressure on your skin. If you're planning to do any sort of exercise during your pregnancy, be sure to run your regimen past your doctor first.
• How elastic your skin type is Our skin is made up of two layers: the epidermis up top and the dermis down below. Within the dermis layer are protein fibers called elastin. When these elastin fibers tear from stretching too far too fast, stretch marks appear on the skin.

Stretch marks usually feel worse than they look

Once your belly button pops, you're getting close to the point in your pregnancy where your skin will need to stretch more quickly as things continue to grow. You may hope to avoid developing stretch marks because you're worried about the visual blemishes on your skin.

According to the Mayo Clinic, "new stretch marks are bright pink, red, blue, black, or purple" and "older stretch marks often fade to silver or white."

While you may look at those lines in a certain way, someone else may view them in a totally different manner.

The fact that your body grew and nourished two (or more) humans to the point that your skin had to jump into hyperdrive in order to keep up with them is incredible. Those stretch marks are stripes you've earned and any parent should look at them with admiration and wear them with pride.

But what you don't see while your body is expanding day in and day out is the tightness, the soreness, the incredibly irritating ITCHING that you feel on your skin. All. Day. Long.

Even if you don't have any stretch marks.

It takes over as your skin stretches to accommodate your rapidly growing babies. Whatever you do, do not scratch to alleviate the itching, it'll just make the sensation worse. This is why it's so important to hydrate the outside of your skin throughout your pregnancy and after you've given birth.

It's important to note that if you do develop stretch marks and they become raised, red, and itchy, you should let your OB-GYN or family doctor know. These can be symptoms of pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy, and while it's not a condition that poses any danger to your unborn twins, the irritation for the person carrying the babies can be unbearable and may call for your delivery to be bumped up in order to alleviate the itching.

If you don't have this condition and are just dealing with general (and yet still very aggravating) itching from a multiple birth pregnancy, you can try to eliminate the itching (or at least quiet it down) by staying hydrated.

Hydrate like you've never hydrated before

The best preventative measure against developing stretch marks is ensuring your body is properly fueled and hydrated—on the inside AND on the outside.

On the inside, It's important to maintain a healthy, nutrient-rich diet throughout your pregnancy. Think foods with plenty of proteins, vitamins B, C, D, and E, and minerals such as zinc and silica.

It's also incredibly important to ensure you're staying properly hydrated throughout the different stages of your pregnancy.

Before I hit 30 weeks in my twin pregnancy, I was drinking four liters of water per day. Then, I hit a point where I had to increase my water intake (approved by my OB-GYN) to five liters of water a day. Tracking my water intake at that point was tricky until I figured out an easy way to stay on top of it.

The point here is that if your skin is healthy and well-moisturized throughout your pregnancy, it may be able to stretch more easily as your body continues to change and your babies continue to grow.

According to the American Pregnancy Association, "the best way to prevent stretch marks is to ensure that your skin maintains its maximum elasticity throughout pregnancy by keeping your skin well-hydrated… Collagen and elastin fibers in the skin are necessary to keep rapidly growing skin taut, and the stronger they are, the less likely they are to break and leave resulting stretch marks."

Vitamins E and C, along with zinc and silica, help your body to form collagen. Antioxidants, like vitamin C, help protect your tissue from damage. Riboflavin (vitamin B2) and Niacin (vitamin B3) work together to encourage and maintain healthy skin.

On the outside of your body, hydration comes in the form of using belly butters and / or body oils to help encourage elasticity, so your skin can continue to stretch without, hopefully, developing any permanent stretch marks.

Belly butters versus body oils

Everybody's skin is different and everybody's pregnancy belly will grow in its own way, so the same product may not work for every single person or every single pregnancy.

Sometimes, a mix of an oil and a butter throughout the day works wonders. It all depends on what works for you.

I personally used three different products throughout my twin pregnancy (two belly butters and an oil), and they all were great. I found using the oil immediately after a shower really helped to seal in the hydration, and using the belly butters in the morning when I woke up, again around lunch, and then once more before bedtime made a huge difference with stopping any itching in its tracks.

Basically, anytime I felt itching on my belly, I went and grabbed my belly butter and it calmed things down.

My combination of Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula, Burt's Bees Mama Belly Butter with Shea Butter & Vitamin E, and Bio-Oil Skincare Oil really worked for me, and I only had a tiny bit of stretching at the top of my belly button, which, I like to think, was probably inevitable, considering I had two babies on board.

I also used this same hydration regimen on my growing chest and as a precautionary, preventative measure on my butt and my thighs throughout my pregnancy, and I continued applying it after I'd given birth (the fourth trimester).

Continuing to use a belly firming butter or oil for three or four months postpartum can help to keep you moisturized as your body heals, tighten your skin as it recovers, and minimize your C-section scar (be sure to check with your OB-GYN on how soon you can continue moisturizing around the incision site) and any stretch marks you might have gotten while carrying your beautiful babies.

The Best Hydrating Butters & Oils to Use on Your Belly During Pregnancy

The belly butters and body oils included in our list were used (and celebrated!) by twin mamas, including yours truly, who all loved the results they had with each of the products they used.

I personally used three of these products consistently throughout my pregnancy and for several months afterward, and many of the other moms used a combination of butters and oils for their prenatal and postpartum periods to find the mix that worked for them.

Multiple babies doesn't have to mean multiple stretch marks

Anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of people who are pregnant will develop stretch marks during their pregnancy or shortly after they give birth.

You might be able to prevent stretch marks entirely by staying hydrated and promoting the elasticity of your skin throughout your pregnancy and in the postpartum period after you give birth.

Stretch mark scarring, also known as striae gravidarum, develops as a result of a rapidly growing belly and can also appear after a rapid weigth loss (like giving birth to multiple babies within minutes of each other).

Whether the stretch marks appear during or after your pregnancy, there are differing treatment options.

By staying hydrated and promoting the elasticity of your skin throughout your pregnancy and in the postpartum period after you give birth, you might even be able to prevent the development of stretch marks entirely.

Did you have a favorite belly butter or body oil to use during your pregnancy and in the postpartum period afterward? Let us know in the Comments section below.