What to expect when you're expecting (63 page)

“My skin is terribly dry. Is that pregnancy related, too?”

Feeling a tad reptilian these days? You can blame your hormones for your dry, often itchy, skin. Hormonal changes rob your skin of oil and elasticity, leaving you with that oh-so-sexy alligator look. To keep your skin as soft as your baby-to-be’s bottom:

Switch to a nonsoap cleanser such as Cetaphil or Aquanil, and use it no more than once a day (at night if you’re taking off makeup). Wash with just water the rest of the time.

Slather on moisturizer while your skin is still damp (after a bath or shower), and use the moisturizer as often as you can—and certainly before you turn in for the night.

Cut down on bathing and keep your showers short (5 minutes instead of 15). Too much washing can dry out your skin. Make sure, too, that the water is lukewarm and not hot. Hot water removes natural oil from the skin, making it dry and itchy.

Add unscented bath oils to your tub, but be careful with the slippery surface you’ve created. (Remember, as your belly grows, so will your klutz factor.)

Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day to stay hydrated, and be sure to include good fats in your diet (those omega-3’s that are so baby friendly are also skin friendly).

Keep your rooms well humidified.

Wear a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 (preferably 30) every day.

“I’ve always been prone to eczema, but now that I’m pregnant, it’s gotten much worse. What can I do?”

Unfortunately, pregnancy (or more accurately, its hormones) often exacerbates the symptoms of eczema, and for women who suffer from it, the itching and scaling can become practically unbearable. (Some lucky eczema sufferers find that pregnancy actually causes the eczema to go into remission.)

Belly Piercings

It’s cool, it’s stylish, it’s sexy—and it’s one of the cutest ways to show off a flat, toned tummy. But once your belly starts to bulge, will you have to give up on your belly piercing? Nope—not as long as your belly piercing is healed (read: your trip to the Piercing Pavilion wasn’t last month) and healthy (in other words, not red, weeping, or inflamed). Remember, your belly button marks where you connected to your own mom in the womb, not where your baby connects to you—which means a piercing won’t provide a path for pathogens to reach your baby. You also don’t have to worry about a belly ring interfering with birth, or even a cesarean delivery.

Of course, as your pregnancy progresses and your tummy starts to jut out in earnest, you may find that your belly bar or belly ring becomes too uncomfortable to wear, thanks (or no thanks) to your taut, stretched-to-the-limit skin. The belly ring might also start to rub—and even get caught on—your clothing, especially when your belly button “pops” out later in pregnancy. And that rubbing can hurt, big time.

If you do decide to take out the jewelry entirely, just run your belly ring through the hole every few days to keep the piercing from closing up shop (unless you’ve had it for a number of years, in which case the likelihood that the hole will close is pretty slim). Or consider replacing your bar or ring with a flexible belly bar made of Teflon or PTFE (for polytetrafluoroethylene).

As far as getting your belly (or anywhere else on your body) pierced during pregnancy: better to hold off until after delivery. It’s never a good idea to puncture the skin during pregnancy, because it ups the chances of infection.

Fortunately, low-dose hydrocortisone creams and ointments are safe to use during pregnancy in moderate amounts. Ask your practitioner or dermatologist which ones he or she recommends. Antihistamines may also be helpful in coping with the itchiness, but again, be sure to check with your practitioner first. Cyclosporine, long used on severe cases that don’t respond to other treatment, is generally off limits during pregnancy. Some topical and systemic antibiotics may not be safe for use during pregnancy either, so check with your practitioner first. The newer nonsteroidals (Protopic and Elidel) aren’t recommended because they haven’t been studied in pregnancy and can’t be ruled safe until more is known.

If you’re an eczema sufferer, you know that prevention can go a long way in keeping the itch away. Try the following:

Use a cold compress—not your fingernails—to curb the itch. Scratching makes the condition worse and can puncture the skin, allowing bacteria to enter and cause an infection. Keep nails short and rounded to decrease the likelihood that you will puncture the skin when you do inevitably scratch.

Limit contact with potential irritants such as laundry detergents, household cleaners, soaps, bubble bath, perfumes, cosmetics, wool, pet dander, plants, jewelry, and juices from meats and fruits.

Moisturize early and often (while skin is still damp, if you’re just out of
the water) to lock in the skin’s own moisture and prevent dryness and cracking.