What is the line in the middle of the belly when pregnant?

Many women will develop a dark brown line running vertically across the belly button after two months of pregnancy, and this line will gradually become darker. For some people, it passes through the belly button, while for others, it only appears below the belly button. According to folk tales, we can also use this thread to tell whether the baby is a boy or a girl. In fact, that is what we often call the pregnancy line, and its appearance is a normal reflection of pregnancy. So, what does that line in the middle of a pregnant belly mean?

The line in the middle of the abdomen during pregnancy is called the linea pregnancy, which refers to a horizontal line that appears in the middle of the abdomen of most women during pregnancy or passes through the belly button. Most of them occur between 2nd and 4th month of pregnancy. It is a substance that increases estrogen and progesterone, which promotes the function of skin melanocytes. The melanin in the skin of pregnant women increases, especially pigmentation appears on the nipples, nipples, linea alba, private parts, etc. Every woman's pregnancy line is different. For some people, the color of this area will become darker and bolder, or even grow hair, or even extend upwards to the chest to form this center line, but for some people, there is no change at all. All of this is normal. Generally, people with thicker hair have more obvious pregnancy lines. Whether the appearance of a pregnancy line has no close relationship with the duration of stretch marks. For most people, the pregnancy line will naturally become lighter and eventually disappear after giving birth.

Causes of pregnancy line

You must be wondering why a line appears on your originally smooth abdomen after pregnancy. Below, let’s understand the reasons for the formation of the pregnancy line. The reason for the formation of the pregnancy line is actually a pregnancy reaction. During pregnancy, the metabolism of estrogen and androgen is unbalanced, which aggravates the melanin and causes pigmentation in the bottom layer of the skin. 90% of mothers will develop a pregnancy line during pregnancy, and once it occurs, it cannot be repaired by itself. Only through professional repair can the melanin gradually become lighter, lighter, or even disappear.

In fact, there is this line on the abdomen, which is a normal physiological line. However, when you are not pregnant, most people have this line very light and difficult to distinguish. However, some people also have a light black line when they are not pregnant. After a woman becomes pregnant, the growth hormone in her body will change, which in turn promotes the increase of pigmentation, causing a line on the abdomen to become pigmented and gradually turn into a black strip, which is the linea gravida. The appearance of a pregnancy line is a normal phenomenon, which is usually more obvious after the second trimester of pregnancy. After giving birth, most pregnant women's pregnancy lines will gradually become lighter or disappear.

Pregnancy line and the birth of a boy or girl

The older generation of parents, influenced by traditional concepts, care a lot about having sons or daughters. To reproduce and raise children to provide for one's old age, so once one finds out that the daughter-in-law is pregnant, one will want to know whether it is a boy or a girl. Therefore, there are many folk legends that are said to be able to tell the gender of the baby during pregnancy. Some people think that the gender of the baby can be seen through the pregnancy line. If the pregnancy line is on the left side of the belly button and goes straight to the middle of the two breasts, it is usually a boy, otherwise it is a girl.

However, some people say that if the pregnancy line is straight from below the belly button to above the belly button and goes straight between the two breasts, then it is usually a boy and not a girl. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. For a couple, the probability of having a boy or a girl is actually the same, and there is no trick to having a boy or a girl. Don’t trust all the folk remedies. Expectant parents should believe in science and not be superstitious.

The difference between pregnancy lines and stretch marks

Although both the linea nigra and stretch marks appear during pregnancy, they occur at different times and for different reasons.

1. The formation of the pregnancy line is mainly due to the influence of male hormones during pregnancy. The bulging of the abdomen causes the elastic fibers and fibroblasts of the skin to stretch due to external forces and suffer varying degrees of damage or rupture, the skin becomes soft and narrow, and the abdominal skin appears. Stretch marks are red stripes that appear on the abdomen, buttocks, thighs and under the breasts during pregnancy. After delivery, the red color gradually changes to silver texture.

2. The pregnancy line is a normal condition and most of the lines will gradually disappear after giving birth. Stretch marks are difficult to fade. In fact, some pregnant women do not develop stretch marks during pregnancy. Generally speaking, you should pay attention to prevention in the fourth month of pregnancy. Apply some anti-stretch mark moisturizing lotion or cream after bathing, which can effectively prevent stretch marks.