Physiologic skin changes during pregnancy: a study of 140 cases

Background The endocrine, metabolic, and immunologic changes during pregnancy give rise to a number of physiologic cutaneous changes. Objective We evaluated 140 pregnant women to determine the pattern of pregnancy-induced physiologic skin changes in our community. Results The various changes observed include: increased pigmentation (90.7%), striae (77.1%), edema (48.5%), melasma (46.4%), vascular changes (34.2%), and others. Conclusions Pigmentary changes were the most common finding, whereas the incidence of vascular changes was quite low (p < 0.01).