Dark Pregnant

Dark Pregnant
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Learn about the causes of skin darkening during pregnancy, and how you can prevent it.
The one thing experts agree on is skin darkening in pregnancy is more common in women who already have increased skin pigmentation, including women of African, Asian, and Latin American descent (5) .
Are you going to be working up a sweat or out in the sun throughout the day? Bring your sunscreen with you to reapply it every two hours.
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Mary Sweeney, BSN, RN, CEN is an oncology nurse navigator and freelance medical writer. Mary has 4 years of experience as an officer in the Navy Nurse Corps. including emergency/trauma, post-anesthesia, and deployment medicine.
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Are you pregnant and noticing dark spots on your face, arms, or legs?
Pregnancy comes with a lot of changes. But one of the most shocking can be your skin and freckles getting darker.
In this article, we’re going to discuss melasma (also known as “pregnancy mask”), one of the little-discussed symptoms of pregnancy. We’ll talk about why it happens, if it’s normal, and what we can do if it happens to us.
Although it may not be one of the most talked-about pregnancy symptoms , skin darkening, known as melasma or chloasma, is entirely normal. It is sometimes referred to as “the mask of pregnancy” because it often appears on the face, especially the forehead, nose, and cheekbones (1) .
But while the face is the most common area for discoloration to occur, it can happen anywhere on the body. Skin darkening is also common in areas often exposed to the sun, like your arms and legs, as well as your underarms, where friction can easily occur (2) .
Another common pregnancy symptom, the linea nigra , is thought to occur because of the same process.
Just as estrogen causes hair growth during pregnancy, and progesterone can cause bloating , hormones are also the likely cause of skin darkening. But no one is entirely sure which hormone is the culprit.
Melanocytes are the skin cells responsible for pigment. Melanocyte-stimulating hormones increase during the second and third trimesters. Some experts believe that melasma it is caused by increased progesterone during pregnancy because it is fairly common in menopausal women who take progesterone supplements (3) .
Others think it is the increased estrogen levels that increase the production of melanin (4) .
Unfortunately, you need the increased hormones that likely cause melasma to help your baby develop and grow. Estrogen, for example, helps your baby develop normally, while progesterone helps your uterus thicken and be a healthy environment for your baby .
Because these hormones are essential for your baby’s development, there is nothing we can do to entirely prevent skin darkening during pregnancy.
But while we can’t prevent melasma from happening, there are things we can do to stop it from getting worse.
Folic acid is an essential prenatal vitamin for pregnant women because it helps prevent neural tube defects . It can also help reduce your baby’s risk of cleft lip and palate and certain heart defects and can help reduce your risk of preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy).
While skin darkening is not nearly as important as your baby’s brain health, folic acid also has another little-known bonus use — it can help prevent hyperpigmentation.
While sun exposure can help you obtain a summer glow, it also has a nasty side effect of making already dark areas of your skin darker. If you already have patches of skin discolored by melasma, exposing them to the sun can make them worse.
To prevent this, keep your skin covered. Long sleeves, pants, and wide-brimmed hats can help keep the sun’s rays off your skin and prevent the melasma patches from getting darker.
If you’re pregnant during the summer, long sleeves and pants might not be a viable option for covering your skin and preventing melasma from getting worse.
Dermatologists recommend wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen daily as a part of your skincare routine to prevent skin cancer. It can also prevent chloasma from getting worse.
When choosing a sunscreen, avoid those with oxybenzone. Oxybenzone can cause low birth weight and problems with the baby’s hormone levels, which could lead to developmental problems.
An SPF sunscreen of 30 or more can block out 97 percent of the sun’s UVB rays (6) . Apply it to your face every morning along with your other skincare products and to any area of your body that will be exposed to the sun. Take care to reapply every two hours while exposed.
While hair growth is another common symptom of pregnancy, it doesn’t always occur in the areas we want it to. To not look like an extra in Planet of the Apes, many women seek ways to get rid of it.
But if your extra hair growth has you heading to the waxing salon, you might want to reconsider.
While waxing is safe for both mom and baby during pregnancy, it can also cause skin inflammation, which can make hyperpigmentation worse.
While your favorite lotion might have a scent that reminds you of rainbows and butterflies, if you’re suffering from melasma during pregnancy, chemical-free and fragrance-free soaps and skincare products are the way to go. The fewer chemicals in your products, the less likely they are to react negatively to the sun on your skin. And since your skin is more sensitive during pregnancy, this will also help prevent other problems such as breakouts.
You may be tempted to try products with hydroquinone or retinol to lighten up those dark spots, but those are not safe during pregnancy. Using these products is safe only after pregnancy and after you are done breastfeeding (7) .
The best thing to do if you are suffering from melasma is to try to prevent it. But if you’re looking for a way to help get rid of hyperpigmentation that has already popped up on your skin, there are some remedies that may help.
Many of these remedies can be harsh on sensitive skin due to the acids they contain.
Before applying them to large areas, make sure to test them on a small section of skin first to ensure you won’t have a reaction.
Are you losing sleep at night wondering if these dark spots will remain on your skin forever? The good news is most women will see dark spots fade as their hormone levels go down after their baby is born.
Beware, though, because one in ten moms will find this condition worsens when taking hormonal contraceptives after giving birth (8) . So, if you suffered melasma during pregnancy, talk to your doctor about what birth control will help you prevent this from occurring.
Hyperpigmentation is the last thing you want to deal with when pregnancy has already put things like nausea and heartburn on your plate. We get it!
While there is nothing we can do to stop skin darkening completely, with the tips and tricks listed in this article, you can help keep it to a minimum and help lighten any hyperpigmentation that has already occurred.
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All content found on this website is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health provider.

Home / Pregnancy / Dark Nipples During Pregnancy: Causes and Things to Do
You may be one of those women out there wondering why you start developing Dark Nipples During Pregnancy, or perhaps worried if something wrong has happened to you because of the dark nipples during pregnancy!
There is no cause for alarm as the unique answers to your questions and worries are here within your reach in a very simplified format.
The human breasts, specifically that of females come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The breasts usually go through several changes throughout the life of an individual and these changes are unique to you and your body.
The nipples may darken or change in a variety of ways during puberty, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and beyond and the darkened area on the breast is known as the areola. This term refers to the skin around the nipple.
Most times, women don’t anticipate the changes that come with pregnancy especially that of the dark nipples and this has brought about all manners of anxiety and worries among some pregnant women, most especially in the first pregnancy.
The changes that happen during pregnancy are always unique to each pregnancy, but some of these changes put more fear in those carrying their first pregnancy, unlike women that have given birth before and knew the most likely changes they are expected to see.
Dark nipples during pregnancy are one of those generalized signs experienced by both new and experienced pregnant women. It is usually a result of some hormonal changes that mostly occur in the pregnancy cycle of women.
Dark nipples during pregnancy are something bound to happen and should not be a cause of anxiety or an emergency visit to the hospital.
Dark nipples during pregnancy are a resultant effect of an increased hormonal release (specifically the progesterone hormone and the estrogen hormones) which also leads to hyperpigmentation during pregnancy to make physiological provisions for the food source of the soon-to-be-born baby.
It is more like a physiological adaptation that the pregnant woman’s breast naturally undergoes to make the feeding part of the breast very pronounced for the baby when he or she is been given birth to. It is the darkening of the areola that eventually leads to the darkening of the nipples.
There are numerous causes of dark nipples during pregnancy that are unique to each pregnant woman.
But there are also generalized causes of dark nipples during pregnancy which encompass but are not limited to:
pregnancy can emotionally affect the proper functioning of most women, so you have to do these few things:
Yes, dark nipples during pregnancy happen to every pregnant woman and mostly around the sixth month of pregnancy, and persist throughout the pregnancy and breastfeeding stage this implies that the color change is not a life-threatening situation; it is simply a normal part of being pregnant and giving birth experienced by every pregnant woman.
No, there is no cause for alarm or quest for treatment options when you see your nipples dark during pregnancy as Darker areolas or dark nipples during pregnancy will in most cases return to their original color after childbirth, although they will most likely stay dark as long as you are breast-feeding .
No, dark nipples during pregnancy is a temporary that mostly persist from the early stage of the first trimester till after breastfeeding, which after, the nipples go back to their normal color before pregnancy. Although the dark nipples remain permanent a little proportion of pregnant women who have given birth are done breastfeeding.
Dark nipples during pregnancy are a normal occurrence of pregnancy and usually start as early as the first trimester of pregnancy.
It is not something to be anxious or disturbed about as it is something bound to happen during pregnancy because of the increased secretion of melanin and other pregnancy homes like the estrogen hormone and progesterone hormone.
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It's normal to have more vaginal discharge during pregnancy because your body is producing more estrogen, which signals the vagina to produce more discharge. Having dark discharge or light brown discharge when you're pregnant can be worrying. Most of the time, it's nothing to be concerned about.
Vaginal discharge is brown because it's tinged with old blood. (Blood turns brown as it dries.) This can happen when some blood in your uterus takes a while to come out.
Here are some reasons you may have brown spotting or brown stringy discharge while you're pregnant:
You could have some brown, blood-tinged discharge after sex. Friction during sex can cause some trauma to your vaginal or cervical tissues, especially if you're not well-lubricated, and that can cause some spotting. And the cervix can become bruised with deep penetration.
Your cervical tissues are particularly delicate during pregnancy, so you might notice some spotting or brown discharge after your practitioner has done a pelvic exam or checked your cervix.
The mucus plug is a collection of gelatinous secretions from your cervix. These secretions fill the cervical canal in early pregnancy and create a protective barrier for most of pregnancy. As you get closer to delivery and your cervix begins to thin out (efface) and open up (dilate), these mucus-like secretions may come out of your vagina and look like a glob of thickened mucus that's clear, pinkish, brownish, or tinged with a bit of blood. This can be a sign of early labor .
Always call your doctor if you have bleeding during pregnancy. Vaginal spotting or bleeding is usually the first sign of a miscarriage . (You may also have abdominal pain.) But bleeding during early pregnancy is not necessarily a bad sign -- up to 1 in 4 pregnant women have some bleeding or spotting at that time, and most of these pregnancies don't end in miscarriage.
An ectopic pregnancy is another possible cause of bleeding or spotting during pregnancy. It happens when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus. The blood may be red or brown, like the color of dried blood, and it may be continuous or intermittent, heavy, or light. Because ectopic pregnancy is potentially dangerous, it's important to recognize the early signs (abdominal or pelvic pain, vaginal spotting, and shoulder pain) and get treatment as soon as possible.
A molar pregnancy happens when a fertilized egg develops into a growth called a mole instead of into a normal embryo. You may still have typical pregnancy symptoms in the beginning, but eventually you'll have bleeding that will be a signal to call your doctor. The blood might be bright red or a brownish discharge, continuous or intermittent, light or heavy. It could start as early as six weeks into your pregnancy or as late as 12 weeks. You might also have severe nausea and vomiting, abdominal cramping, and abdominal swelling.

BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies .

ACOG. 2020. Vulvovaginal health. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. https://www.acog.org/patient-resources/faqs/womens-health/vulvovaginal-health [Accessed February 2021]
ACOG. 2016. Practice bulletin 172: Premature rupture of membranes. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27661655/ [Accessed February 2021]
OWH. 2018. Labor and birth. U.S. Office on Women's Health. https://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-and-beyond/labor-and-birth [Accessed February 2021]
UpToDate. Undated. Patient education: Vaginal discharge in adults (The basics). https://www.uptodate.com/contents/vaginal-discharge-in-adults-the-basics [Accessed February 2021]
UpToDate. 2021. Patient education: Vaginal discharge in adult women (Beyond the basics). https://www.uptodate.com/contents/vaginal-discharge-in-adult-women-beyond-the-basics [Accessed February 2021]

MomJunction's articles are written after analyzing the research works of expert authors and institutions. Our references consist of resources established by authorities in their respective fields. You can learn more about the authenticity of the information we present in our editorial policy .
1. Comprehensive Stool Analysis ; Doctor’s Data, Inc (1999-2017) 2. Scott LaFee; End Results: What color is your poop and other pressing fecal matters ; UC San Diego (2018) 3. What Pee And Poo Color Says About Your Health ; The American Council on Science and Health (2016) 4. Black or tarry stools ; NIH (2018) 5. Gastroenterology ; UCLA Health 6. Black or tarry stools ; NIH (2018) 7. J. Clifford et al.; Dietary Fiber ; Colorado State University 8. Gastritis ; Harvard Health Publishing (2014)
Rebecca is a pregnancy writer and editor with a passion for delivering research-based and engaging content in areas of fertility, pregnancy, birth, and post-pregnancy. She did her graduation in Biotechnology and Genetics from Loyola Academy, Osmania University and obtained a certification in ‘Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy’ from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU)
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