Week 21 - Skin Changes
When I found out I was pregnant one of my first stops was to the dermatologist. I had seen friends experience really bad acne breakouts during their pregnancies and I was worried this would happen to me. I had a great conversation with my dermatologist, a woman who has kids of her own, about what remedies I could use if I did end up breaking out. This all boils down to your own level of comfort. Some people want to go really all natural when they are pregnant and are worried about chemicals, so they switch lots of things. I have heard of people changing out their deodorant when pregnant, to those super natural kinds. I was not in this camp. I felt and was advised that, for example, a topical solution on your face, like salicylic acid (which is found in many face scrubs) would be used in such small amounts that it was fine. Honestly, my dermatologist told me she even thought an acne medicine like prescription strength Retin-A was ok to use, because it’s topical and used on such a small part of your body. I continued my regular skin care regimen and was really lucky not to have major acne problems in the end. But I think this is yet another example of why it’s really important that you be comfortable with your doctor or midwife and find someone whose philosophies match yours, so you can ask them about these types of problems and discuss possible solutions.
Dawn Siff, Parenticity