Clinical associations of striae gravidarum.

Striae gravidarum are a common finding in the abdominal skin of pregnant women. This study of 128 pregnant women examined factors which are associated with their occurrence. It is clear that women with higher body mass indices have more striae and that striae are also more common in younger women. These findings may be explained by the greater degrees of stretch applied to the skin in obese women with larger babies, and by changes in skin collagen and connective tissue that are age-related and affect its tendency to tear.