Physiological Skin Changes During Pregnancy

    December 2014 in “ Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology ”
    Kelly Tyler
    Image of study
    TLDR Most skin changes during pregnancy go away after giving birth.
    The document from 2015 reviews the common physiological skin changes during pregnancy, which include hyperpigmentation, melasma, striae gravidarum, telogen effluvium, hirsutism, nail changes, and vascular changes like spider angiomata and palmar erythema. It notes that up to 90% of pregnant women experience hyperpigmentation, 45% to 75% develop melasma, and up to 90% of white women get striae. Telogen effluvium causes postpartum hair loss due to more hair entering the resting phase, and hirsutism leads to male-pattern hair growth but usually resolves after pregnancy. Vascular changes are attributed to high levels of estrogenic hormones, and varicosities affect up to 40% of pregnant women. Glandular activity also changes, with reduced apocrine and increased eccrine gland activity. The document concludes that these skin changes typically regress or resolve after pregnancy, and reassurance is the main treatment.
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