What should I do if my armpits turn dark during pregnancy?

Women's bodies will undergo some physiological changes during pregnancy. Some people will experience vomiting, some will experience nausea and fatigue, but some women will experience darkening of their armpits. In fact, the darkening of women's armpits during pregnancy is mainly due to the increase in hormone levels in the body, which causes melanin deposition. So what should you do if your armpits become dark during pregnancy? Here are some reasons why your underarms may become dark.

1. Reasons why pregnant women’s armpits turn dark

Pigmentation such as spots and freckles appears because of the presence of melanocytes under the skin that produce melanin. Due to the influence of estrogen and progesterone, the number of activated melanocytes increases significantly. Therefore, as the pregnancy progresses, pregnancy spots, mainly pigmentation and freckles, will appear under the eyes. Moreover, obvious pigmentation will form in areas where melanin is concentrated. The white line in the center of the abdomen will turn brown, and it is not uncommon for black to appear around the nipples, areolas, and armpits.

Melanocytes are not only activated by hormones, but also greatly increase in number due to external stimuli such as ultraviolet rays.

The pigmentation that occurs during pregnancy varies from person to person, but it will gradually lighten after delivery. However, most of them will not disappear completely, and some may only become lighter after a long time.

2. What to do if your armpits become dark during pregnancy

Some women will experience darkening of their armpits in the early stages of pregnancy. This is because female hormones change due to pregnancy, causing the precipitation of melanin. Due to the increase of estrogen in women, the skin color in the skin folds (armpits, etc.) becomes darker. Estrogen levels naturally decrease after pregnancy is over and then return to normal. This is caused by endocrine system and will gradually return to normal after giving birth, so there is no need to worry too much.

What changes occur in the uterus during early pregnancy?

The uterus is the cradle of human life and has a great impact on women's reproductive health. Understanding the changes in the uterus is very important for women to become pregnant. In the first three months of pregnancy, the enlargement of the uterus is not obvious. It usually takes until three and a half to four months for the belly to become noticeably bigger.

At one month of pregnancy, the expectant mother is almost the same as before pregnancy, with basically no special changes. The uterine wall becomes soft and thickened, but there is no apparent change in size or shape; it is about the size of an egg. At this time, due to the imbalance of hormone secretion in the body, more sensitive expectant mothers will experience symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. A small number of people experience cold-like symptoms: fatigue, fever, chills, etc.

At 2 months of pregnancy, as the gestational weeks increase, the expectant mother's uterine wall becomes very soft and the cervix becomes thicker to protect the uterus. Generally, the first formal prenatal check-up is performed between the 8th and 12th weeks of pregnancy. The first check-up usually includes medical interviews, weight and blood pressure measurement, fetal heart rate monitoring, urine and blood tests, and checking the size of the uterus.

At 3 months of pregnancy, the expectant mother's uterus now looks like a grapefruit. The uterus gradually increases in size as the fetus grows. The fundus of the uterus can be touched above the pubic symphysis, and the fetus has filled the entire uterus. The enlarged uterus begins to compress the bladder and rectum located in the front and back, reducing bladder capacity, causing frequent urination and a feeling of incomplete urine discharge. Never deliberately avoid drinking water or holding urine to avoid urinary tract infection.