Pregnant women often have a brown stripe in the middle of the abdomen, what does it mean?

When pregnant There will be changes both inside and outside of a woman’s body. In addition to some things that make mothers expect and enjoy, many women feel annoyed about hair growing in different places, especially the appearance of a brown stripe in the middle of the abdomen and it gets darker and darker all the time. pregnancy. So what is the real meaning of this line? What does it reveal about the pregnant mother’s body?

This brown stripe has its own name

The brown stripe along the pregnant belly has its own name, Linea Nigra, which in Latin means dark line. It usually runs from the pubic bone to near the breastbone, dividing the pregnant belly into two halves. Brown sugar usually starts to show up in the second trimester, although some moms can spot them earlier, or they can even be a sign of pregnancy. Some mothers sometimes have a white streak instead of a black streak on their belly, known as linea alba.

Brown lines in the middle of a pregnant mother’s belly usually appear in the second trimester. (Illustration)

The cause of linea nigra is because during pregnancy, the increase of estrogen causes the body to produce more melanin. Melamine is the pigment that makes the skin darker in some parts of the body. This is also the reason why women often have pigmentation and dark nipples during pregnancy.

Can’t stop Linea Nigra from appearing

Many pregnant women find the appearance of the linea nigra line on the abdomen very interesting, but many also find it unsightly. However, no matter what, you cannot prevent the linea nigra from appearing because it is a completely natural phenomenon.

However, you can control the darkening of linea nigra by avoiding direct sun exposure. Additionally, some studies have shown that adequate folate intake during pregnancy may help control linea nigra.

Linea Nigra is neither beneficial nor harmful

The brown line in the middle of a pregnant woman’s belly appears completely natural and there is no benefit, no harm at all. Its density and shape do not reflect the health of the mother or the development of the fetus. Some pregnant women even worry about the absence of linea nigra, but the fact that it is simply a difference when the body responds to the increase of estrogen and melanin should rest assured.

The intensity of Linea Nigra does not reflect the condition of the fetus. (Illustration)

Linea Nigra does not help predict the sex of the baby

There is a belief that if the brown line extends from the pubic bone to the navel, it will be a girl, and if this line continues up to the rib cage, it is a boy. Another concept is that only mothers who are pregnant with boys have a linea nigra on their abdomen.

In fact, these notions have absolutely no scientific basis. The sex ratio of the fetus for any pregnant woman is 50:50.

Brown stripes will disappear on their own after giving birth

Not all pregnant women have a clear linea nigra on their belly. In white people, this stripe is often very pale, sometimes not clearly visible. However, no linea nigra does not mean the pregnancy is abnormal. It’s simply the difference as the body responds to the increase in estrogen and melanin.

And the linea nigra will also disappear gradually after birth, even if the mother does not intervene. Also want to accelerate its disappearance, pregnant women can use benign skin lightening creams or use turmeric.