Retinol and Pregnancy-Should you use retinol creams when pregnant?

Pregnancy is a delicate stage in human life. It is a stage that every human being passes through either as a pregnant mother or as the expected baby. At this stage, heavy nutritional demands are placed upon the expectant mother by the forming fetus. And as these nutritional demands are placed upon the expectant mother so does the extreme care needed for the protection of the unborn.

Embryonic formation during pregnancy requires a balanced diet. Of this diet, a very critical ingredient is Vitamin A. deficiency in vitamin A during pregnancy has been known to cause various forms of deformation in babies including babies being born blind.

There are two primary sources of Vitamin A: Animal sources which provide retinoid and plant sources which provide Carotenoids. Retinoids consists of retinol and retinoic acids. Retinoids as sources of Vitamin A are derived from animal products such as liver, eggs, dairy products and fish. Retinol can be converted to retinal which is essential for your vision. Retinol can also be converted to retinoic acid. Retinoic acid is essential for skin health, bone formation and teeth growth.

Effects of Retinol-Retinol and Pregnancy.

During pregnancy the belly skin stretches to accommodate the expanding womb. Therefore, the flexibility and elasticity of this skin is paramount . The role of this elasticity becomes more pronounced once the baby is born and the skin needs to shrink back to its previous form. This is the part where retinol and pregancy are related.

Retinol has been known to facilitate increased production of glycosaminoglycan and procollagen. The former is responsible for skin moisturization while the latter is responsible for the building blocks of the skin structure. Therefore retinol is important for ensuring that the skin returns to its former shape and structure after birth.

However, as much as you may be concerned about your skin returning to its natural form, you ought to be more concerned about the well being of your unborn baby. A research published in the New England Journal of medicine has found out that expectant mothers who use retinol creams have a higher chances of having a deformed baby. The majority of the experts suggest that you should not use any retinol cream during pregnancy or during lactation.

To balance this need for your skin and the need of the well-being of your unborn baby, it is important to take Vitamin A, but, in the form of Carotenoids. This simply means that you have to avoid taking in excessive amount of animal sources of Vitamin A and substitute this with extra amount of plant sources of Vitamin A such as carrots, dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, kales and fruits containing carotene such as pumpkins, papaya and mangoes. Furthermore, nuts such as pea nuts also contain a rich source of Vitamin A.