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Pregnancy acne can be treated with self-care and medication.
Pregnancy acne isn't a special form of acne. Some people simply seem to have trouble with acne during pregnancy. The likely culprit is an excessive production of oil (sebum) — which happens when the body produces greater amounts of certain hormones.
To treat pregnancy acne, start with self-care:
Medication also can be used to treat pregnancy acne. However, medications applied to the skin or swallowed during pregnancy can enter your bloodstream and affect the baby. While most ingredients in topical acne treatments available without a prescription haven't been studied in pregnancy, typically only small amounts are absorbed into the skin. This makes it unlikely that the treatments would pose a risk to a developing baby.
Generally, skin treatments containing erythromycin (Erygel, Erythra-Derm) and clindamycin (Cleocin T, Clindagel, others) are considered safe. Other options include treatments containing benzoyl peroxide and azelaic acid.
Some acne medications are known to cause birth defects and must be avoided during pregnancy, including oral isotretinoin (Amnesteem, Claravis, others). Also avoid topical retinoids during pregnancy even though only low amounts of the medication are absorbed into the skin. Retinoids are available with and without a prescription, so read drug labels carefully.
If you're concerned about pregnancy acne, consult your health care provider. Together you can weigh the benefits and risks of various treatment options.