Unfortunately, the answer is no. Experts say they are not preventable, they are hereditary. If your mother got them, most likely you will get them and vice versa. I am not an expert, but I can tell you my mother didn’t get stretch marks during either of her pregnancies and neither did I during my first pregnancy. Regardless, I still read up a lot about stretch marks and took precautionary measures just in case. I have no idea if it was my genes, the measures I took, or just pure luck that kept me from getting them with Joey, but either way, I’m not taking any chances now with my second one!

Now of course, it is what it is. Stretch marks are nothing to be ashamed of. They are a symbol of the little bundle of joy you brought into this world. However, there’s no shame in wanting to try and prevent them.

It’s important to first understand what stretch marks are and how we get them. We have elastic fibers underneath the surface of our skin and when your body grows faster than your skin can keep up, stretch marks form. So while they aren’t really preventable, they say there are a few things you can do to slow down the process and maybe lessen them.

The first thing they say you can do is to slow down how fast you gain the weight. Yeah, I know, the person who recommended this was probably a man. But anyway, they say by slowing down how rapidly you gain the weight, your skin may have a chance to catch up. (I wish you luck with this one; that first trimester nausea when all you want are carbs, is hard!)

Next, take care of your insides. Eat plenty of Vitamin C and drink lots of water to stay hydrated. Hydration helps with optimizing your skin’s elasticity, which will help with stretch marks.

Lastly, keeping your skin hydrated from the outside helps too. There are a lot of expensive creams, lotions, and oils out there marketing themselves as stretch mark prevention tools, but I went right for the real deal (and the much cheaper one). Coconut oil. Slather that stuff on your stomach and I swear your skin will stay moist for days. But here’s the downside- it goes right through your clothes and stained one of my pregnancy shirts 🙁 So here’s what I do. Before I go to bed at night I coat my stomach in the coconut oil and then put on an old oversized t-shirt, something I don’t care about staining. Then in the morning when I need to put real clothes on I use an alternative to the coconut oil. I really like Bio-Oil. It does a great job of hydrating my skin, and it’s non-greasy formula doesn’t stain my clothes. I put it on a thin cotton pad and then rub it on my stomach. Then I put the band of my maternity pants over it and I’m good to go! Cocoa butter and shea butter are also supposed to be great at keeping your skin hydrated (although I did not use them).

But remember, unfortunately, there is no way real way to prevent stretch marks. Try these tips, what will be, will be, and enjoy your pregnancy!