Acne During Pregnancy

Many pregnant women complain of getting acne during pregnancy. Even women that have never experienced acne breakouts in their lives have battled acne during pregnancy. The cause is believed to be the fluctuating hormone levels surging through a woman’s body during the gestational period. Because of this, women can begin experiencing acne breakouts at any point during pregnancy from the first few weeks through the end of the nine months.

Women have complained of acne appearing mainly on the face, chest and back areas. Occurrence can be different in every woman, and while some will have moderate to severe outbreaks others will not be conflicted with acne during pregnancy at all. As with pregnancy itself, each case is different. Women that are affected during a first pregnancy may not have acne during subsequent pregnancies, or vice versa.

Some drugs are known to cause birth defects, so treating acne during pregnancy causes women some dilemma.

The occurrence of acne during pregnancy causes women some dilemma as to how to treat it. Several drugs that are used to treat general acne breakouts are deemed unsafe for the fetus if used during pregnancy. Most acne drugs have been tested and researched and some, especially a drug known as Accutane, are known to cause severe birth defects even if used within several months of becoming pregnant. Also, most drugs that are usually used do not treat a hormonal cause and instead attack bacteria that may be causing breakouts. Since it is known that acne during pregnancy is generally caused by fluctuating hormones, using these drugs would be ineffective because they are not addressing the root cause.

Even some over the counter face washes have come under question as to how safe they are for use to treat acne during pregnancy. The main ingredient of concern is glycolic acid, which is found in several face washes that are marketed for treating and preventing acne. Research has been done and top dermatologists agree that there has been no cause found to prevent using these products to treat acne during pregnancy. However, the main choice lies with the woman as to whether or not she feels comfortable using these products during the pregnancy period.

When it comes down to it, there really is no cure for acne during pregnancy. The best advice is to simply wash the affected area with mild soap twice per day and avoid using makeup, if possible. Just remember that it is only temporary and will go away within a few weeks of your baby being born.