HEALTHY FAMILY
Protect Your Skin During Pregancy
Common prenatal skin conditions
and how to treat them
W BY HEATHER M. ROSS
What kinds of skin conditions can
occur with pregnancy?
HYPERPIGMENTATION One of the most common changes that can
occur during pregnancy is a change in the
pigmentation of your skin, Goldberg says.

Nearly all women experience some hyper-
pigmentation during pregnancy, but this
doesn’t always look the same.

Melasma is a condition in which women
see dark patches on the face, cheeks, fore-
head or temples. It’s usually related to
hormones and can be triggered by sunlight.

For Melasma, Goldberg usually advises the
use of hats and daily use of sunscreen.

Linea nigra, also called the “pregnancy line,”
is another form of hyperpigmentation—a dark
vertical line over the lower abdomen, and it can
fade completely after pregnancy.

RASHES Saurabh Singh, who cares for patients in
Rockville and Silver Spring at U.S. Derma-
tology Partners, adds that among the most
common pregnancy-related skin condi-
tions he sees are PUPPP (pruritic urticarial
papules and plaques of pregnancy), pem-
phigoid gestationis and different types of
itching, including prurigo of pregnancy and
34 Washington FAMILY OCTOBER 2022
cholestasis of pregnancy.

Singh, co-founder of nation-wide online
skincare service, Skintap, has been practicing
medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology
for adult and pediatric patients in the D.C.

metro area since 2011.

PUPPP typically appears first on the abdo-
men, sometimes involves the extremities
and rarely involves the face, he says. PUPPP
rashes can look and feel a lot like hives and
there are some things doctors can do to
provide relief, such as providing an oral anti-
histamine or other medications.

“I recommend fragrance-free products or
moisturizers anytime moisture is needed, a
lot of people are actually sensitive or allergic
to fragrance. So that can make itching or dry
skin or eczema even worse,” Goldberg says.

Prurigo of pregnancy often looks like
small pimples or acne. This rash typically
shares a color palette with stretch marks.

Some women report that the bumps feel
itchy or uncomfortable, but the rash is typ-
ically nothing to be too concerned over for
mother or baby.

A fairly common condition, it occurs in
approximately 1 out of every 300 pregnan-
cies, according to an article published in
the American Family Physician, and it isn’t
uncommon for it to last weeks—or even
months—postpartum. Some people who have acne experience
relief while pregnant, Goldberg says. Others
develop acne, or their acne gets worse with
the hormonal changes that come with preg-
nancy. However, while there are many acne
products that are safe to use during preg-
nancy there are some that aren’t.

“You should always check with your doc-
tor [first] to ensure safety,” Goldberg says.

“Delivery is often the treatment for
most of the aforementioned conditions,”
Singh says.

STRETCH MARKS
Another common change to the skin during
pregnancy is the appearance of stretch
marks. Stretch marks look like red, pink or
purplish lines in areas that stretch. Accord-
ing to Goldberg these are most common on
the belly, thighs and breasts. Most of the
time stretch marks fade after pregnancy but
not always completely.

BLUE PLANET STUDIO / GETTY IMAGES
ith any pregnancy comes
changes to a mother’s skin—a
growing belly stretches the
skin—but beyond that there are other skin
changes brought about by hormones.

“Because of (hormones), we see changes
to our skin, hair and nails,” says Jamie Gold-
berg, who has been a dermatologist for 10
years and is currently working with Kaiser
Permanente in Halethorpe.

Pregnancy-related skin conditions can occur
at any stage in the pregnancy, though most are
most intense during the third trimester.

According to Goldberg, most of these
changes are normal and many of them go
away—or are significantly reduced after your
pregnancy—but it’s helpful to know what
they are and how to treat them.