Is collagen safe during pregnancy?
Pregnancy comes with a whole host of physical changes.
As pregnancy progresses, the skin on the stomach, hips, thighs, and breasts expands, and many women develop stretch marks.
Post-pregnancy, loose skin on the stomach is very common, and skin may never go back to its original elasticity.
Despite popular belief and before you go spending, creams and lotions can't prevent or treat stretch marks and loose skin. Following a healthy lifestyle with a nutritious diet and daily exercise is best for supporting skin health. Include supplements such as collagen if required.
What is collagen?
Collagen is the main structural protein which occurs in connective tissue, cartilage, bones, joints, blood vessels, organs, hair, and nails. Collagen is what keeps our skin from sagging and gives us that plump, youthful look.
Collagen supplementation during pregnancy can be very beneficial to support the vast amount of changes which occur in the body.
Would I benefit from taking collagen during pregnancy and breastfeeding?
I can give you many reasons as to why you would want to use collagen supplementation;
Many facial treatments and products are unsafe during pregnancy, such as Botox, retinol use and fillers etc. So for those who want to look after their skin safely, collagen is an excellent option.
Collagen strengthens joints and ligaments to help your body carry the physical load. Once a baby is born, healthy joints will help you carry your baby. Caring for a baby is physical work, and plenty of mums have sore necks, backs, and arms.
Collagen can help with muscle soreness and injury. This would be helpful to the mums exercising during pregnancy and returning to exercise when they’re safe to do so.
Pregnancy may create lush, thick hair for many women, due to hormones postpartum hair loss can come as a shock and can occur right away around 4 months after the baby is born. Taking collagen can support new hair growth.
Collagen has digestive benefits. It is composed of amino acids (much like those found in bone broth), some of which can seal and heal the gut lining.
The peptides in collagen are also known to help reduce anxiety and overall mood, which can help support your body with so many hormonal and emotional transitions.
Which collagen do I recommend?
I recommend collagen by Edible Health. I use this collagen powder myself, as do some of my postnatal clients.
I have already had good feedback regarding improved skin elasticity on their stomachs and increased hair growth after experiencing quite a bit of a loss.
I questioned Edible Health on their collagen and its use during pregnancy.
The response I got was as follows;
‘One of our customers had her first baby recently, and we encouraged her to take it during her pregnancy and afterwards to help with stretch marks, internal muscle tone and bone/joint support, as well as after-birth recovery. She did this and had no stretch marks and, if they had not used forceps on delivery, would have had no further issues. The supplement has however helped her to heal faster and also seems to be super boosting her milk production as mum and baby are doing amazingly!
Read more about this customer's use of collagen during her pregnancy here;
I hope this article has helped, and just to clarify;
All peptide collagen (aside from marine collagen) is safe during pregnancy, but it is always best to check with your doctor or midwife before starting any supplement or medication.
