- Article 01.

- Article 02.

Facts, Myths And Logical Thought On Anti Striae
(Stretch Marks) By Cliff Thompson

Anti Striae, know commonly as stretch marks, are caused by the rapid expansion or reduction of skin seen on women during or after pregnancy, or people that gain or rapidly lose weight.

We will discuss some of the common medical explanations for stretch marks and possible steps for prevention
Medical Fact #1 Stretch Marks Are Genetic: This is a fact. However, to call something genetic is sometimes a cop out from medical professionals meaning, “Well, we don’t know exactly why”. Death is genetic. Yes you read me correctly. Death is genetic. We all have a genetically programmed lifespan. So does this mean we all die at the same age or every brother, sister or twin dies on the same date? No. It is common knowledge medically and logically that many other factors come into play when we look at mortality numbers. In fact, don’t those same factors come into play when we are calculating Life or the latest buzzword Quality of Life? It sounds simple and confusing all at once but this is the beauty and the complexity of medicine and health. Back to the point. Stretch marks occur during the rapid expansion or reduction of body size because the skin, or more specifically the dermis, cannot keep up.

Our skin is an amazing organ that does a good job keeping up with growth. Look at any child between 1-13. It can however, be overwhelmed which may cause small rips or Striae in the dermis or second level in the skin. The basic factors that determine this tearing are speed of growth and malleability or flexibility of our skin.

Speed of growth is something that in certain situations like pregnancy is very hard to control. It is not only the weight gain during pregnancy, but more importantly the rate. Some women gain weight slowly and some pop overnight – thus genetics. For the health of the mom and the baby it’s very important that women follow their obstetrician’s guidelines and maintain a healthy weight. When compared to the health of their child, stretch marks should be the least of their concerns. However, one area that they may be able to control is the flexibility of their skin. Just like pizza or cookie dough, when your skin is dry it does not like to stretch and will have a tendency to crack.

So the question is what can we do to keep our skin more
malleable? This is where those environmental factors like sun, pollution and other nasties like smoke and just general stress comes into effect. So we must fight our environment. Nothing-new here. It’s what mankind has been doing since the Ice Age.
So What Can Be Done To Prevent Or Reduce These Little Tears?
. Limit time in the sun—The sun will dry up moisture very quickly so limit exposure times, but a little sun can be healthy for everybody. Also natural UV protection is best. (See below.) There have been some studies that warn women who are pregnant to be wary of artificial UV protection.

. Hydration— Ok, we all knew this one but if everybody talks about it, it must be important. It does actually make sense i.e. cookie dough. The most common recommendation is the 8X8 rule or about 8 glasses a day. However, there is not a lot of science to back this one up. So I guess we go back to common sense. If you’re thirsty, drink more.

. Moisturizers— While it is true that moisturizers do not make it into the second level of the skin or dermis, they do help to keep the dermis staying moist by creating an effective barrier and slowing evaporation. Most good moisturizers also have UV protectors as well. All products are NOT created equal, so try to use products that contain ingredients that are proven to be good for your skin i.e. olive oil, shea butter (a natural UV protector) avocado oil and vitamin E. Look for products that absorb well into your skin. If it’s too sticky or greasy it may not be absorbing well or worse – it may block pores.

. Be consistent—This is something that you need to do at least twice a day, so find the right product for you. Smell it, feel it and make sure you can afford it.

Last but not least.
. Be Happy—Yep. It is a medically proven fact that happy people are more healthy. Not fake happy, but truly happy. It may be difficult to enjoy all of the changes that your body is going through but trust yourself and your body. The one thing that all doctors do agree upon is that the body is a truly amazing machine. So sit back, enjoy the changes and get ready for the
conditions including diabetic ulcers, burns and other acute and chronic soft tissue wounds.

Cliff Thompson Is a Biomedical Engineer who works as a consultant for Mommy Care US and is the CEO of World Medical Services. He has been working for over twenty years with doctors from around the world and members of the World Health Organization (WHO) in different areas of research including the use of Shock Waves for healing many skin

Perineum Massage

Starting around the 34th week of your pregnancy, try daily prenatal massage of the perineum (the area around your vagina). Perineum massage may increase the stretching ability of the area, decreasing the chance of an episiotomy and / or natural tearing.

With clean hands and trimmed nails, try this technique yourself, or have your partner do it for you. Tip: If you do it yourself, use a mirror to help familiarize yourself with your perineal area:

Sitting in a warm comfortable area, spread your legs apart in a semi-sitting position. Put a small amount of FLEXIBLE, medical pure sweet almond oil, on your fingers and thumbs and around your perineum.

Place your thumbs about 1 inch (or just past your first knuckle) inside your vagina and press down toward the rectum and toward the sides at the same time. Gently and firmly continue stretching until you feel a slight burn or tingling.
Hold this stretch for about 2 minutes, or until the tingling fades.

Now slowly and gently massage the lower part of the vaginal canal back and forth, hooking your thumbs onto the sides of the vaginal canal and gently pulling these tissues forward. This is what your baby’s head will do during delivery. Continue for 3-4 minutes.

Finally, massage the tissues between the thumb and forefinger back and forth for about a minute.

Do be gentle, as a vigorous touch could cause bruising or swelling in these sensitive tissues. During the massage avoid pressure on the urethra (urinary opening) as this could induce irritation or infection.

Perineum massage is not for everyone and it may not help in every case. So, the most important thing you can do is to choose a midwife or doctor who is experienced and comfortable delivering babies without cutting an episiotomy. Discuss with your doctor what your expectations and choices are in advance so that when the time comes they can follow your wishes.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of an episiotomy?

As with everything there are disadvantages and advantages to an episiotomy. An episiotomy is the most common operation in obstetrics; in many hospitals, a majority of first-time mothers get episiotomies.
It has long been thought that episiotomy prevented trauma to the perineum and improved the long-term function of the pelvic musculature. However, recent studies have shown that this is simply not true. Episiotomies do not prevent pelvic floor relaxation and do not prevent serious perineal damage. In fact, research shows that midline episiotomies tend to increase the average depth of perineal injury and substantially increase the risk of damage to the anal sphincter and the rectum (which can cause a lot of discomfort and, at times, long-term problems, such as anal incontinence.) Besides increasing the incidence of serious lacerations, episiotomy is associated with increased pain postpartum, increased sexual discomfort when intercourse is resumed, and increased blood loss at the time of delivery.

Some women who do not receive an episiotomy will end up with spontaneous perineal lacerations, but studies show in general, these women also experience less pain after delivery and stronger pelvic floor musculature at three months postpartum than women who underwent episiotomies.

There are times when performing an episiotomy can be justified. Delivering a baby over an intact perineum requires slightly more time during the second stage of labor (the pushing stage), as the midwife or doctor must allow adequate time for the mother’s vagina and perineum to gradually stretch.

Occasionally, the fetus simply cannot tolerate the extra time needed for the vagina to stretch naturally, and an episiotomy is used to expedite delivery.

Episiotomy is also common when more room is required for manipulation, such as for a vaginal breech delivery or the delivery of a very large infant. Plus an episiotomy is often performed before the application of forceps or a vacuum extractor. On rare occasions, the maternal tissue is either so swollen or otherwise compromised that it cannot stretch well and episiotomy is needed.

If you’d like to avoid an episiotomy, it’s important to speak to your healthcare provider early on about your feelings regarding the procedure. Also, ask your care provider about her experience delivering babies over intact perineum and the episiotomy rate in the practice.