“Pregnancy scars” are a casual term to describe stretch marks that arise from excessive pulling of the abdominal skin as the baby grows. Although hormonal changes during pregnancy increase skin elasticity to adapt to the growing belly and breasts, the rapid stretching of skin causes tears in the dermis, which is replaced by scar tissue. Stretch marks are not the only type of scars that can form from pregnancy. Scars from birth by cesarean section (C-section), for instance, are also common. Briefly, C-section is a procedure in which the surgeon delivers the baby through an incision made through the uterus and overlying abdominal skin. The incisional scar tends to heal and fade on its own but can persist and worsen over time like C-section scars. For the purposes of this blog, however, we will be focusing specifically on stretch marks.