The skin on your belly has to expand a lot to accommodate your baby during your pregnancy. That leaves your skin tight, dry, and itchy. The irritation of itchy skin isn’t a medical problem, but it is uncomfortable. You can relieve that discomfort naturally.
1. Don’t Scratch
Yes, if feels a lot better to scratch the itch, but the relief is temporary because this irritates your skin even more.
2. Moisturize
Your main defense against belly skin discomfort is moisturizing. At bynature.ca we carry several natural body butters and skin lotions that work wonderfully to soothe a pregnant belly.
Maintaining the elasticity of your skin can also lessen (or even, if you are lucky, prevent) stretch marks, those little silver lines that show up on belly, breasts, and bottom as they blossom faster than your skin can comfortably grow.
Anointment Natural Skin Care, Shea Butter Cream includes shea butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil, lavender and other natural ingredients. Made in Canada
Anointment Natural Skin Care, Cocoa Butter includes cocoa butter, grape seed oil, coconut oil, vitamin E, and other natural ingredients. Made in Canada.
Dimpleskins Sweet Cheeks Body Balm includes Coconut Oil, Apricot Oil, lavender, vanilla, and other natural ingredients. Made in Canada.
Earth Mama, Mama To Be Herbal Stretch Oil includes calendula, chamomile, and other natural ingredients. Made in USA.
Graydon Natural Skin Soothing Balm includes avocado oil, grape seed oil, hemp seed oil, calendula, arnica, manuka honey, and other natural ingredients. Mindfully made in small batches in Canada.
miniOrganics Nourishing Body Oil includes jojoba oil, avocado oil, patchouli, frankincense, and other natural ingredients. Made in Australia.
Motherlove Nurturing Life Gift Box contains a sample of Pregnant Belly Salve, which includes marshmallow root, rosehips, lavender, chamomile, calendula, and other natural ingredients. Made in USA.
3. Relieve the Itch
You probably already have the best natural solution to itchy belly in your kitchen cupboard: oatmeal. An oatmeal bath can help relieve the itchiness you feel from your stretching skin much the same way it relieves itchiness with sunburn, poison ivy, chicken pox, and other skin irritations.
For a soothing oatmeal bath, start with about 1/3 cup oatmeal. Grind either with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor. You can add herbs or non-irritating essential oils, but you might already be getting those in your moisturizers. You aren’t trying to create oat tea, so don’t put this in a bag. The goal is to create an oatmeal suspension in your bath with the powdered oatmeal evenly dispersed through the warm (not hot) water. Start to run your warm bath then add the powdered oatmeal under the faucet where it can get stirred into the water. Continue to mix the powder into your bath water until milky then get in. You probably will end up with a light layer of the powder on your skin, so just rinse lightly. Don’t scrub it off, since that soft, silky feel is exactly what you need from the oatmeal bath.
An itchy belly is one of those minor irritations during pregnancy that is easy to relieve with a little self care. Unless you have a problem more serious than expanding skin, natural oils, herbs, and grains can provide all of the skin care you need for your pregnant belly.
For a list of chemical ingredients to avoid during pregnancy, see “Safe Skin Care During Pregnancy” at BabyCenter.
Image © Marina Dyakonova | Dreamstime.com
During my last pregnancy I could not have lived without the Stretch Mark Cream from Apothederm http://apothederm.com/shop-products/body/stretch-mark-cream/
It was very effective for my past stretch marks and the new marks I got. I would recommend it!