Expectant mother in front of the mirror: appearance during pregnancy

Often, experienced obstetricians and gynecologists can tell that a patient is pregnant without resorting to an examination or special laboratory tests—the first glance at the woman is enough for them. This data cannot be included in the documentation, but you can notice these changes yourself by looking at yourself in the mirror.

During the period of bearing a baby, all the activities of the expectant mother’s body are aimed at ensuring normal growth of the fetus and maintaining the necessary conditions that ensure its development according to a genetically encoded plan. Pregnancy affects the functioning of all systems of the mother’s body: endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, immune, urinary; The condition of the skin, hair and nails also changes.

Skin pigmentation

Your complexion may change during pregnancy. Sometimes they even talk about the mask of pregnant women - light brown pigment spots that appear on the forehead or cheeks. Sometimes expectant mothers note that they blush , becoming covered with a light blush in the area of ​​the ears, eyelids, and cheeks. This is completely harmless, age spots go away on their own after childbirth, and the ability to blush with or without reason will gradually disappear.

There is often an increase in pigmentation throughout the body. The body of a pregnant woman produces more estrogens and progesterones, and against this hormonal background, nipples, age spots and moles may darken somewhat. During this period, it is advisable to avoid open sunlight and ultraviolet radiation - do not go outside without sunscreen and a reliable hat.

Do not try to correct the situation with peeling and whitening procedures - during pregnancy, the skin becomes very sensitive, and aggressive actions may not have the best effect on it.

Prevention is easier than cure: prevention of cellulite during pregnancy

As soon as you find out about pregnancy, start taking preventive measures - this way you will reduce the risk of developing cellulite to a minimum. The most important thing is nutrition. Vegetable oils and fish oil should be included in your diet - its amino acids will prevent “bad” fat from accumulating in problem areas. Boiled meat and fish, cereals, greens, salad, cabbage, fruits - these foods do not cause “orange peel.”

The beneficial microelements contained in sea salt can provide your skin with good tone. Baths with it will charge you with positive energy and give you a feeling of comfort and freshness. Carry out the procedure twice a week, combine it with a massage - this way you can consolidate the effect.

The pool has proven itself very well - water procedures will help keep your figure in good physical shape.

Rashes

Sometimes pregnancy presents not the most pleasant surprises in the form of various skin rashes. It can be:

Acne (acne)

Appears against the background of altered hormonal levels. Do not try to cleanse the skin yourself using deep cleansing, steaming, etc. During pregnancy, it is better to use gentle oils that gently cleanse the skin. Your body now needs increased amounts of vitamins A and E (you can take them in combination - for example, in the drug "Aevit"), but you should first consult with a gynecologist.

Rash in skin folds

This unpleasant phenomenon is often accompanied by redness and itching. Pay attention to underwear - it should be made of pure cotton. Try to ventilate your skin more often so that it can breathe freely. You can lubricate the areas of the rash with diluted lemon juice - this also helps to cope with the rash.

Vitamins A and D will help cope with itching (most often it appears in the sacral area, but sometimes it occurs throughout the body). Add olive oil to your diet, do not forget about carrots, yolks, fatty varieties of sea fish, orange vegetables and fruits, sprouted wheat and nuts. Castor oil can be applied to itchy areas.

What to do if your face is burning?

If your face is burning, then you need to establish the cause of such an unpleasant symptom, identify the nature and help eliminate the provoking factors . If the cause was a mechanical effect on the skin of the face through a course of biorevitalization, mesotherapy, photocoagulation, then it is worth stopping such techniques.

First of all, when a fever appears, you need to:

• resort to bed rest;
• monitor your diet to see if there are any allergies to certain foods;
• exclude provoking foods from the diet: citrus fruits, hot tea, coffee, spicy seasonings, chocolate;
• take a walk in the fresh air, maybe the fever will go away quickly;
• ventilate the room;
• try to calm down, take a course of relaxation, if you have an additional headache or psychological stress;
• take a tablet of papaverine, no-shpa.

The face often burns in pregnant women and women during menopause due to changes in hormonal levels. Of course, this is a common occurrence and will soon pass. It's unlikely to be of any help.

If there are changes in blood pressure and during menopause, you can take advantage of a treatment course with Klimadinon, Leminson, Klimonorm.

When spider veins appear on the cheeks, in order to eliminate them, you can apply ointments: rosacea, rozamet, oak bark, heparin ointment, lotions or infusions of medicinal anti-inflammatory herbs.

It is possible to treat with antibiotics for dermatitis on the face, infectious skin lesions:

• Trichopolum;
• hormonal ointments, gels: Metrogyl, Avantel for suspected Rosacea;
• ascorutin.

In addition, with constant hot flashes and thickening of the skin, you can use folk remedies in the form of tinctures of cranberry juice, chamomile, calendula, and string to strengthen blood vessels.

In severe cases, with excessive and persistent brightness of the skin on the cheeks, which has led to changes in the psyche, excessive nervousness, an operation is indicated for the purpose of:

• stabilization of vascular activity;
• facial correction (can be done today in any beauty salon).

Getting rid of heat on the face means:

• eradicate bad habits: smoking, alcohol;
• avoid stress;
• take sedatives;
• drink herbal tinctures;
• make soothing masks, for example, zucchini + cucumber + rice flour, egg yolk + cottage cheese + carrot juice.

If the reason is physical overload or negative emotions, then first of all you need to:

• wash with warm water;
• take a deep breath;
• close eyes;
• relax;
• exclude hot spices, seasonings, sweet and spicy foods, coffee, strong tea from the diet;
• take a contrast shower;
• relax, sleep.

It is recommended that lovers of strong hot tea or coffee drink healthier herbal or green tea, walk more often in the fresh air, exercise daily and go to bed early.

Of course, if your face is hot, you can visit a beauty salon and undergo galvanization, ultrasound, and photocoagulation procedures for facial cleansing. But the procedures are expensive and in case of serious diseases in the body, in particular, the cardiovascular system, they are unlikely to benefit.

If you have overly sensitive skin, you need to treat it more carefully:

• apply a layer of special cosmetics without acetone before going outside in cold or hot weather;
• include more fruits and vegetables in your diet;
• avoid long-term use of medications;
• wear, if possible, only breathable clothes without any synthetics;
• prepare natural face masks and scrubs at home;
• use natural cosmetics to soothe the skin and restore blood circulation.

You can prepare folk recipes by applying masks from cucumber and zucchini, fatty cottage cheese with kefir, an infusion of oatmeal (mucus), grated carrots, and fresh potatoes. With proper use, within a couple of months you can achieve the desired results on your face, completely eliminating pinkish rashes.

It is recommended to wipe your face every day with an infusion of chamomile, celandine, calendula, or apply a moistened gauze bandage. In order to cleanse the skin of the face, it is useful to apply: cucumber, zucchini, potato, banana, egg masks by mixing, for example, with cabbage juice, green tea.

Stretch marks

This is a separate problem that worries expectant mothers very much. Unfortunately, the tendency to stretch marks in most women is genetic. So ask your mother - if she had this problem during pregnancy, you will need to pay special attention to the skin of the chest, thighs and abdomen.

Stretch marks (also known as “pregnancy stripes” or stretch marks) appear as a result of hormonal changes. The skin lacks proteins and elastin, so it begins to thin (especially in those places where it stretches the most). The body strives to “close” intradermal tears as quickly as possible, building up connective tissue (similar to how a wound heals after an injury). At first, the connective tissue has a pink or purple tint, then the number of blood vessels in it decreases, and it becomes whitish, and even when tanning does not change its color.

Symptoms of conception after a delay

Anyone who has discovered a delay in their critical days is interested in the question of how long after the fact of pregnancy can be considered accurate. In the first days after conception, no one will register you, because the pregnancy may be terminated. You will be able to register with a gynecologist from about the second week. At 4-6 weeks the risk of miscarriage is greatest.

The signs of conception listed below after a delay in menstruation indicate that the fetus has definitely established itself and is growing.

• A positive pregnancy test (with two lines or a corresponding text inscription), which the woman took 3 or more times within a break of 2-3 days
• Confirmation by a gynecologist after an examination on the chair (the doctor discovers that the cervix has become softer and its tint is slightly bluish due to blood flow, the uterus has increased in size)
• Ultrasound diagnosis of the uterus from the fifth week shows the fertilized egg that has implanted in the uterus
• Increased hCG levels in blood and urine tests

How to prevent stretch marks

• Eat right , without getting carried away with sweets and baked goods. This, on the one hand, will help you avoid gaining excess weight, and on the other, will have a beneficial effect on the skin. As we found out, the skin especially needs proteins (from which collagen and elastin are synthesized), as well as vegetables (a source of vitamins, carotenoids and other beneficial substances). By the way, about vitamins. Pay attention to vitamin E (tocopherol). It is believed that it protects cell membranes from oxidative damage. If you take complex vitamins for pregnant women, then it is part of almost all complexes. But perhaps you need additional sources of vitamin E. It is especially abundant in grain products, sprouts (wheat, rye, peas), and in vegetables - tomatoes, lettuce, peas, spinach, parsley, rose hips. An excellent source of vitamin E is unrefined vegetable oils: sunflower, soybean, cottonseed, peanut, corn, sea buckthorn.
• Act outside . Vitamin E will also help when used externally - it (together with other fat-soluble vitamins) is included in most special products for “stretch marks” (gels, creams, oils). They can be used starting from the third month of pregnancy, while the skin is not yet particularly stretched. Lubricate the “risk zones” before going to bed - this will help activate the activity of fibroblasts - cells that produce collagen and elastin.
• External support . Wear a specially fitted prenatal bandage. It will help reduce the load on the spine and abdominal muscles. But still, try not to abuse it, the muscles should work themselves. If you are at home, wear it for about 2 hours with a two-hour break so that your abdominal muscles work independently.

The more elastic your skin is, the easier it is to cope with stretch marks. elasticity can be increased by the following methods :

• Cold and hot shower. It perfectly improves blood circulation and makes the skin more elastic. Here's how to do this procedure correctly. At the beginning, the water should be at a comfortable temperature. After this, turn on the hottest water possible (but if you have never taken a contrast shower before, first try to soften the temperature contrast, alternate between room temperature and cold water). After 30 seconds, turn off the hot water and open the cold water for 20-30 seconds. Then - hot again. This should be repeated 3-5 times. We finish the procedure with a cold pour. An important point - a contrast shower should not be used if you are at risk of miscarriage!
• A simple and effective remedy is massage, especially in combination with creams for stretch marks. Try, for example, a pinch massage, in which the skin is easily compressed and pulled back. Perform massage in “risk zones” for 10 minutes. By the way, this is an excellent prevention of cellulite. For massage, you can also use not very hard brushes or mittens made of horsehair (dry or wet, during a bath or shower). Massage the skin in small circles, being careful not to press too hard. Massage is always carried out from the periphery to the center - from the limbs to the heart. If you use a finger massager, do not forget to lubricate your skin with a special cream or gel.

Skin problems during pregnancy are not fatal, but they do force you to pay serious attention to your diet and lifestyle. Listen to your body's signals!

Inessa Smyk

Nails during pregnancy

Nails are just a layer of dead keratin (which is also part of our hair). Their purpose is to protect delicate fingertips. The nail bed is supplied with oxygenated blood through a well-developed capillary system located under the nail bed. Nails do not need vitamins and minerals, since they consist of dead protein, and therefore their growth cannot be enhanced with the help of these substances. On the other hand, protein deficiency will affect the condition of your nails. However, most people consume 3-4 times more protein than their body needs. Nails grow at a rate of 3-6 mm per month, depending on the age and health of the person. Their growth occurs faster at a young age and in warm climates. An interesting fact is that the nails on the right hand (or, if you are left-handed, then on the left) grow faster. Nails on the middle fingers also grow faster than others. This is due to the fact that functionally more active fingers are better supplied with blood, and therefore with nutrients. Just as in the case of hair, increased hormonal activity during pregnancy has a positive effect on the condition of the nails. They grow faster, become harder, stronger and more beautiful.

Fortunately (or maybe, on the contrary, unfortunately), almost all the metamorphoses that will happen to your appearance during pregnancy are temporary. It will take your body about six months to return to its “original position” after the birth of your baby. And then, looking in the mirror, you will again see yourself as you were before - with the exception of a new, “motherly” expression in the eyes, which will remain with you for the rest of your life.

Skin structure

Our code is very complex. It consists of three layers: the epidermis, the skin itself, or dermis, and subcutaneous fat. Each of them, in turn, also consists of several layers. The thickness of the skin ranges from 0.5 to 4 mm and depends mainly on the size of the dermal (middle) layer. It is relatively less pronounced on the face and more noticeable on the hips.

The epidermis has the appearance of a narrow strip, its thickness can range from 0.07 to 0.12 mm; consists of five layers. The epidermis contains epithelial cells that have a varied structure and arrangement. In its lowest layer, the germinal, or basal, cells constantly multiply. Gradually moving towards the surface of the epidermis, its cells change their structure. Thus, the cells of the basal layer contain fairly large nuclei, while the cells of the most superficial, stratum corneum are devoid of nuclei. The cells of this layer peel off easily. The stratum corneum is dense, elastic, poorly conducts the body and electricity and protects the skin from injury, burns, cold, moisture, and chemicals. Between the stratum basale and the stratum corneum are the stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum and stratum lucidum.

The skin itself (dermis) consists of two layers, papillary and reticular. It contains fibers, including collagen and elastic, that make up the framework of the skin. In the papillary layer the fibers are softer and thinner; in the mesh they form denser bundles. The reticular layer of the skin contains sweat, sebaceous glands and hair.

Subcutaneous fatty tissue in different parts of the body has unequal thickness: on the stomach, buttocks, and palms it is well developed; on the ears and the red border of the lips it is very weakly expressed. In obese people, the skin is inactive; in thin and emaciated people, it easily shifts. Fat reserves are deposited in the subcutaneous tissue, which are used up during illness or other unfavorable cases. It protects the body from bruises and hypothermia. In your own skin and subcutaneous tissue there are blood and lymphatic vessels, nerve endings, hair follicles, sweat and sebaceous glands, and muscles.

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