Understanding Brown Spotting During Pregnancy

Many women will experience changes in their skin during pregnancy. They may see brown spots appear on their hands, back, or abdomen, and many will see these spots appear on their faces. This can be a shock to some, but if you know about the causes behind it, you can take some steps to prevent or at least reduce them, or realize that this is just a normal occurrence that sometimes can happen to women when they are pregnant. Then it might not seem so startling.

Some women only experience a “glow” or flush when they become pregnant, as there is an increase in circulation and blood flow to nourish your growing baby. Other women find that they have an overproduction of oil on their faces when they are pregnant, and can experience new or more acne than they had before they got pregnant. These new pimples can cause spots and scarring, and you can take care to prevent them by using a good facial cleanser to control the increased oil that can lead to pimples and acne.

When you become pregnant, your body undergoes many changes, most of them hormonal. Your body is adjusting to a growing human being that you must nurture and nourish, and there are many changes that it will go through in order to do so. Your hormones are in overdrive as they prepare to nurture and carry a baby inside you, until you give birth, and even beyond when you are breastfeeding. Hormones are responsible for a whole host of things that go on in your body, and pigmentation is one of them.

Your body creates melatonin to protect you from the rays of the sun. When you are pregnant, your hormones are working overtime, and the result can be an increased production of this melatonin. This can result in brown spotting during pregnancy, when your body is creating more melatonin than normal, due to the high hormone levels. It can be uneven and splotchy, leading to this “brown spotting”. In order to at least counteract some of this, you can always wear sunscreen on any exposed skin to prevent the sun from darkening the melatonin in your skin. You may still experience it on your face and other areas, but a good sunscreen is essential for any person, and can be beneficial when you are pregnant and your body is making more melatonin through hormonal changes.

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