On this page
Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, for assessment, itch relief and honest advice: the doctor confirms the marks from photos, prescribes an emollient or a mild steroid cream when the skin over them is inflamed, and checks that itching is the harmless stretch kind; nothing prescribable prevents stretch marks.
- What they are: tears in the dermis, the skin's elastic middle layer, where it stretched faster than it could grow; about 8 in 10 pregnant women get them, mostly from 24 weeks on the bump, breasts, hips and thighs, and genetics, bump size and weight gain matter most.
- Creams: no cream, oil or butter is proven to prevent stretch marks, including the heavily marketed ones; moisturising still relieves the itch and tightness of stretching skin, and products containing retinol or other retinoids must not be used in pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
- How long: fresh stretch marks are red or purple and most visible for 6 to 12 months, then fade over 1 to 2 years to pale, slightly sunken silvery lines that never fully disappear; treatments after breastfeeding, such as retinoid cream, microneedling and laser, improve them modestly.
- Itch rule: itchy stretch marks are usually just dry, tight skin; an itchy bumpy rash inside them late in a first pregnancy is polymorphic eruption, harmless and treatable; itching of the palms and soles with no rash needs bile acid blood tests.
- Emergency: stretch marks are never a 112 emergency; call 112 only if you are severely unwell for another reason, and say you are pregnant.
Stretch marks themselves are harmless and never an emergency. But if your main problem is itching, check the pattern first: intense itching involving the palms of your hands or soles of your feet without a rash, often worse at night, needs blood tests via your midwife or maternity unit to rule out obstetric cholestasis, so get medical advice the same day; the itchy skin in pregnancy page explains exactly what to do. If you are severely unwell for any reason, call 112 and say you are pregnant.
Can stretch marks in pregnancy be helped online?
Yes, for honest assessment and itch relief. What nothing can do is prevent the marks: no cream, oil or balm has been convincingly shown to prevent stretch marks in pregnancy, despite decades of products marketed for exactly that.[1][4] Whether you develop them is driven mainly by genetics, age, how quickly skin stretches and hormonal factors, not by how faithfully you moisturised. What moisturising genuinely does is ease dryness, tightness and itch. Individual skin varies, so a doctor can set expectations for your situation.
Can you prevent stretch marks in pregnancy?
That answer deserves to be said clearly because the alternative costs real money and real guilt. Women are sold the idea that enough expensive oil would have kept their skin unmarked, and then quietly blamed, or blame themselves, when biology does what it was always going to do. The evidence reviews say otherwise: studies of the most heavily marketed products show no reliable prevention effect, and the modest positive signals that exist come from small trials of massage with plain emollients, which may help a little and certainly do no harm.[1][4] Cheap emollient, applied for comfort rather than prevention, is the rational version of this ritual.
What are stretch marks, and why do they appear in pregnancy?
Stretch marks (striae gravidarum when they appear in pregnancy) are fine tears in the deeper elastic layer of the skin, which stretches faster than it can remodel. Pregnancy hormones also soften the skin’s supporting fibres, making the tears easier to form.[1] They appear most often from the late second trimester onwards, over the bump, breasts, hips and thighs, starting red, purple or brown depending on your skin tone, and affecting a majority of pregnant women to some degree.[1] They are more likely with a first pregnancy at a younger age, a family history of stretch marks, twins, a larger baby or faster weight gain, none of which is a lifestyle verdict. Two useful facts sit on the hopeful side: fresh marks are at their most visible, and the fade is real. Over the year or two after birth they settle into pale, silvery lines that are far less noticeable, which is why the honest first-line treatment is time.[1]
How an online consultation helps with stretch marks in pregnancy
- Expectation-setting you can trust: a doctor with no cream to sell tells you what is normal, what will fade, and which products are marketing rather than medicine.
- The itch check that matters: itching over a stretching bump is usually harmless, but the doctor checks the pattern properly, because palms-and-soles itch without a rash is a blood-test matter, not a skincare one.
- Rash-on-stretch-marks assessment: if your marks have sprouted itchy bumps, photos plus video can identify polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, which is treatable and harmless.
- Straight answers on treatment after birth: what modestly improves marks postpartum, what is cosmetic and privately paid, and which options must wait until after pregnancy and breastfeeding.
📷 Before your appointment: photos are only needed if something about your stretch marks has changed: take one wide daylight shot of the area and one sharp close-up of any raised, bumpy or blistered patch. Plain stretch marks need no photos at all; bring your questions instead.
What the doctor checks in an online stretch marks in pregnancy consultation
Even a cosmetic-sounding topic gets a structured check, because itch and rash hide inside it. Expect the doctor to cover:
- How many weeks pregnant you are and how quickly the marks have appeared, which mainly shapes reassurance rather than treatment.
- Whether they itch, and precisely where: itch confined to the stretching skin behaves differently from itch involving palms and soles, which triggers the blood-test rule.[2]
- Whether anything is raised or bumpy: itchy bumps starting inside stretch marks late in pregnancy suggest polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, which deserves treatment in its own right.[5]
- Skin breakdown: soreness, weeping or crusting over marks, which points to irritation or infection rather than simple stretching.
- What you are using: current creams and oils, mostly to check nothing irritating or unnecessary is in the rotation, and that nobody has sold you a retinoid product while pregnant.
- How much it is affecting you: distress about body changes in pregnancy is real and worth saying out loud; honest information usually helps more than another product.
What actually helps, and what is marketing?
The honest ledger is short. Helps somewhat: emollients and massage for comfort, itch and skin suppleness, with weak evidence for modest prevention at best; steady, healthy pregnancy weight gain within the range your midwife advises; and time, which is the most effective fade treatment ever tested.[1] Marketing: specific “anti stretch mark” oils and creams at premium prices, claims that any product prevents marks, and before-and-after photos that mostly show the natural fade you would have had anyway. Nothing on the shelf beats a plain, unfragranced emollient used for comfort.[1]
Is itching over stretch marks normal?
Usually, yes: stretching, drying skin itches, and emollients plus loose clothing settle it. Two exceptions change the plan. Itchy bumps appearing within the marks in late pregnancy suggest polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, covered on the rashes in pregnancy page, which responds well to treatment.[5] And itching that involves your palms and soles with no rash, often worse at night, is the pattern of obstetric cholestasis: contact your midwife or maternity unit the same day for bile acid blood tests rather than reaching for more cream.[2]
Which stretch mark care might the doctor recommend?
Care follows what the marks are doing. This is the framework the doctors use, aligned with cited guidance:[1]
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Presentation | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When referral or in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| New pink or purple lines on bump, breasts or thighs, mild itch | Reassurance, plain emollients for comfort, honest expectation-setting | Yes | Not needed for the marks themselves |
| Itchy raised bumps developing within the marks, late pregnancy | Assessment for polymorphic eruption; emollients plus doctor-advised steroid cream | Yes, with photos | Blistering, spread from around the navel, or feeling unwell |
| Intense itching involving palms and soles, no rash | Same-day bile acid blood tests | No: contact your midwife or maternity unit today | Always; this pattern is never treated as cosmetic |
| Sore, weeping or crusted skin over the marks | Review for irritation or infection, with photos | Often | Spreading redness, pain or fever |
| After birth: red marks you want to improve | Honest options review: time first, then evidence-rated treatments | Yes | Cosmetic procedures are in-person, privately paid and variable in result |
Not sure which row is your skin? A doctor can tell you in one consultation.
See available times →Treatment options for stretch marks in pregnancy
What you can do yourself
During pregnancy, keep it simple and cheap: a plain, unfragranced emollient once or twice a day eases the tightness and itch of stretching skin, and massaging it in is where any modest preventive signal in the research lives.[1] Buy by ingredient simplicity, not price tag. Loose breathable clothing reduces friction over the bump, lukewarm showers dry skin out less than hot ones, and steady weight gain in the range your midwife suggests is better for skin than sharp jumps. Then spend your money and attention on things with better evidence behind them than any stretch mark product: sleep, iron-rich food and a decent bra.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation, and for stretch marks in pregnancy the honest answer is that no prescription is justified for the marks themselves: nothing prescribable prevents them, and pregnancy rules out the few treatments with modest postpartum evidence. The clearest example is the retinoid family (tretinoin and relatives), which can slightly improve the appearance of early red marks after birth but must never be used during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, under long-standing European pregnancy-prevention rules.[3] If a product sold to you while pregnant lists retinol or a retinoid, stop it and mention it in the consultation. Where marks itch because of a rash such as polymorphic eruption, doctor-advised steroid creams treat the rash, not the marks. After pregnancy and breastfeeding, options worth an honest conversation include topical retinoids and, privately, laser or microneedling, whose results are real but partial and variable; a consultation can rank them against simply giving the fade another six months.[1]
When stretch marks in pregnancy are treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: honest assessment and expectation-setting; itch over stretching skin; rashes appearing within stretch marks; irritation from products; and postpartum planning conversations about what, if anything, to do next. Sometimes the most valuable outcome is a doctor confirming that your skin is doing exactly what pregnant skin does, and that nothing needs buying.
In-person care: itching involving palms and soles without a rash goes to your midwife or maternity unit today for blood tests, every time. Blistering or rapidly changing rashes go to in-person care. Skin infection with spreading redness or fever needs same-day review. Cosmetic procedures after birth, where you choose them, happen in person with a practitioner who examines your skin first; an online doctor can tell you honestly whether the likely gain justifies it. And any wider pregnancy concern, from reduced movements to bleeding, belongs with your maternity unit immediately, not with a skincare conversation.
When to get in-person care
Stretch marks alone never need emergency care. Contact your midwife or maternity unit today if itching involves the palms of your hands or soles of your feet without a rash, is much worse at night, or comes with dark urine or yellowing of your skin or eyes, and immediately if your baby’s movements reduce or change. Seek same-day in-person care for a blistering rash or spreading, painful redness with fever. Call 112 if you are severely unwell, faint or struggling to breathe, and tell the call handler you are pregnant.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: open daily 7am–11pm CET. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, exact price up front.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about stretch marks in pregnancy: a private video call from anywhere in Europe; add photos only if something has visibly changed since it last settled.
- Get honest answers and a plan: everything agreed before you hang up: your plan, and a prescription to use at a pharmacy near you where medication is clinically right for you. If your doctor decides you need to be seen in person, you get a full refund.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s stretch marks? Tick every symptom you have to see each page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Not sure this is the right page? Look up any symptom in the full symptom checker, or book and describe it to a doctor.
Frequently asked questions about stretch marks in pregnancy
What are stretch marks, and what causes them in pregnancy?
Stretch marks (striae) are narrow streaks where the dermis, the elastic middle layer of the skin, has torn under tension while the surface stays intact. In pregnancy they are caused by rapid stretching of the bump, breasts, hips and thighs combined with pregnancy hormones, especially cortisol, which weaken collagen and elastin; genetics decide most of your risk, and a large or fast-growing bump, twins, higher weight gain and younger age add to it.
What do stretch marks look like, and do they hurt?
Stretch marks begin as slightly raised pink, red, purple or brown lines, often itchy or tingling before they appear, on the lower abdomen, breasts, hips, buttocks and thighs. They do not hurt and are not harmful; over months they flatten, sink slightly and fade to pale silvery lines. Marks that are hot, weeping or spreading as a bumpy rash are something else and worth a photo for the doctor.
Do any creams prevent stretch marks in pregnancy?
No. No cream, oil or butter has been convincingly shown to prevent stretch marks, despite the marketing: trials of cocoa butter, olive oil and the best-known branded products found no reliable benefit. Genetics, age, how fast your skin stretches and how much weight you gain decide most of it. Moisturising is still worthwhile for the itch and dryness of stretching skin, with a plain unfragranced emollient doing that as well as anything expensive.
Will my stretch marks go away after the birth?
They fade substantially but do not vanish. Fresh marks are red, purple or brown and at their most visible in the first year; over the following year or two they lose their colour and become pale, slightly sunken silvery lines that are far less noticeable, especially once the skin is no longer stretched. Sun protection stops them standing out, because scar tissue tans differently from the surrounding skin.
Is there any prescription treatment for stretch marks while pregnant?
No, and none is justified: nothing prescribable prevents stretch marks, and the treatments with modest evidence after birth, such as retinoid creams, are unsafe in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. What the doctor can prescribe in pregnancy is a good emollient and, if the skin over the marks is inflamed and itchy, a short course of a mild steroid cream, which treats the symptom, not the mark.
Why are my stretch marks so itchy?
Usually because the skin over them is stretched and dry, which emollients, cool showers and loose clothing settle. If the marks have sprouted itchy bumps or weals late in a first pregnancy, that is polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, which starts in stretch marks, is harmless and responds to steroid cream. Itching that involves the palms and soles with no rash, worse at night, is not a stretch mark problem and needs bile acid blood tests.
Do expensive oils work better than cheap creams on stretch marks?
No. Trials of the most heavily marketed oils and creams show no reliable prevention benefit, and no oil outperforms a plain unfragranced emollient for relieving the itch and tightness of stretching skin, which is the only thing any of them achieve. Spend the money on a large tub of simple moisturiser, apply it generously, and treat claims of preventing or erasing stretch marks with suspicion.
What treatments help stretch marks after pregnancy?
Time first: the natural fade over a year or two does most of the work. After pregnancy and breastfeeding, retinoid creams improve newer red marks modestly, and microneedling, fractional laser and pulsed-dye laser can improve colour and texture, with results that are partial and cost that is real. Nothing removes stretch marks completely; sun protection and patience get most people a result they are content with.
How long do stretch marks take to fade?
Stretch marks are most visible for the first 6 to 12 months after they appear, when they are red or purple because the torn dermis is still inflamed. Over the next year or two the colour drains and they settle into pale, slightly sunken lines that stay for life but blend with the skin, particularly in women with lighter skin, while in darker skin they may remain lighter than the surrounding skin.
What can I do myself about stretch marks in pregnancy?
Moisturise the bump, breasts, hips and thighs daily with a plain emollient to ease itch and dryness, avoid scratching, wear a supportive bra and soft clothing, keep weight gain within the range your midwife suggests, stay hydrated, use high-factor sunscreen on exposed marks so they do not darken, and accept stretch marks as the normal record of a growing baby that most mothers carry. Avoid retinol products and unproven supplements.
Can stretch marks be prevented?
Honestly, not reliably. Genetics and how fast the bump grows matter far more than any cream, and the products promising prevention have failed in trials. Steady rather than rapid weight gain, within the range advised for your starting weight, is the one factor with some influence, and daily moisturising keeps the skin comfortable while it stretches. Anyone promising to prevent stretch marks is selling, not advising.
Is it a stretch mark, PUPPP or something else?
Stretch marks are smooth lines that follow the direction of stretch; polymorphic eruption is an itchy bumpy rash growing inside and around them late in a first pregnancy; a dark vertical line down the abdomen is the linea nigra, normal pigmentation; and red raised streaks that are hot or painful can be inflamed skin or infection. A photo lets the doctor separate them, and only the rash and the inflammation need treatment.
- Stretch marks (striae), DermNet New Zealand Trust, reviewed 2024.
- Itch in pregnancy: Clinical Knowledge Summary, NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, revised 2024.
- Retinoid-containing medicinal products: pregnancy-prevention measures, EMA, European Medicines Agency, 2018.
- Topical preparations for preventing stretch marks in pregnancy (systematic review), Cochrane, Cochrane Collaboration, 2012.
- Polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, DermNet New Zealand Trust, 2024.
- Stretch marks in pregnancy, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed November 2022.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor and antenatal team.
Related conditions
From the Mobi Doctor podcast
The 10 Most Common Travel Illnesses
The travel illnesses doctors see most often in Europe, and how to handle each one away from home.
Listen · 23 Feb 2026 → Podcast · 13:26How to Stay Healthy on a Long Flight
Practical steps for circulation, hydration and infection risk before, during and after a long flight.
Listen · 23 Feb 2026 → Podcast · 15:41Debunking Gut Health Myths
What the evidence really says about gut health, and the popular claims that do not hold up.
Listen · 23 Feb 2026 →Speak to a doctor about stretch marks in pregnancy over video, usually within 15 minutes
Licensed doctors · open daily 7am–11pm CET · exact price before payment
See available times →