As your baby grows, the skin around your middle stretches. Stretch marks can happen when your body grows faster than your skin can keep up with. This causes the elastic fibres just under the surface of the skin to break, resulting in stretch marks.

Moisturising daily can help, however there may be more at play. 

Stretch marks can be a sign of zinc, vitamin C, vitamin E or omega-3 fatty acid deficiency. Vitamins C and E help your body to make the elastin that is needed for growth, and omega-3 fats help to keep the skin moisturised from the inside out. 

With this in mind, here a some helpful ways to minimise stretch marks as your pregnancy progresses:

1. Eat foods rich in vitamins E and C, such as berries, avocados and green leafy vegetables.

2. Consume zinc-rich foods, such as pumpkin seeds, lamb and natural yoghurt, as part of your pregnancy diet.

3. Supplement with a quality omega-3 fish oil to enhance your intake of essential fatty acids.

4. Increase your intake of glycine* to support your stretching skin. Two glycine-rich recipes include our Tart Cherry Gummies and Homemade Stock.

5. Moisturise your skin twice daily with vitamin E-rich oil, such as avocado oil. Choose a stretch mark cream or oil that's natural and free from chemicals and toxins.

*More About Glycine

Glycine is a “conditionally essential” amino acid during pregnancy, meaning you must obtain it from your diet to provide enough to support the growth of your baby’s skeleton, teeth, internal organs, hair, skin and nails. Glycine is also necessary to support your stretching skin, growing uterus, placenta and to help your circulatory system adapt to the demands of pregnancy. It also plays a key role in methylation, much like folate, choline and vitamin B12.

A minimum of 10g (or 10,000mg) of glycine is the estimated recommended daily amount during pregnancy. Glycine is most readily found in animal foods, since it's a structural amino acid found mostly in connective tissue, skin and bones. The major plant sources of glycine are (in order of most to least): sesame seed flour, spirulina algae, sunflower seed flour, pumpkin seeds, nori, watercress, beans and spinach. However, the concentration of glycine in plants is very low compared to animal sources. For example, ½ cup of dried spirulina powder contains 1,760mg of glycine, and ½ cup black beans only 280mg. 

N.B. This information is designed to be used in conjunction with, and is not a substitute for, the advice of your doctor or health care practitioner.