Q: Hi,I am an Indian from Ireland. I am in 29th week of pregnancy & everything is fine with ref to baby health but and there are some stretch marks started devoleping on my stomach, which made me worried. This is going to be my first baby, Hence would you please tell me the reason for these marks and the cure to remove those marks. Also let me know how much time it will take to get rid of these stretch marks and when sould we start the cure.

A:The stretch marks or striae are because of the breaking of the dermal fibreswhen the skin is put under stretch. As the baby grows in size inside theabdomen, the abdominal skin gets stretched. When the skin is not elasticenough, stretch marks appear. To minimise their development gentle massagefrom the beginning of early pregnancy is said to be helpful. Once formed,after some time, they will become pale. These then remain throughout life. Laser therapy, after pregnancy, when they are still red, is reportedly beneficial.