Biophysical Properties Of Skin In Pregnancy: A Controlled Study

Aim: It is well-known that there are some physiologic changes in the skin during pregnancy. In this study, we aimed to compare the biophysical changes in the skin of pregnant women with healthy non-pregnant women's skin.Material and Methods: A total of 60 pregnant women in the third trimester and 30 age-matched healthy volunteers as a control group were included in our study. Stratum corneum hydration, erythema, melanin of forearm and sebum content of forehead of skin were measured with noninvasive cutometer and compared between groups with the use of IBM's SPSS software (SPSS version 17.0 for Windows).Results: We found a moderate but significant disturbance of melanin and erythema on the forearm between pregnant women and healthy volunteer women. There was no significant correlation between baby gender and skin parameters of pregnant women.Discussion: We conclude that even the clinically normal-appearing skin of pregnant women compared with healthy volunteers have increased melanin secretion and erythema properties.