The brand new stretch mark PREVENTING maternity range

Stretch marks during pregnancy are no longer inevitable, it seems.

Specially designed knickers and creams are said to prevent the scars with an 82 per cent success rate.

The first-of-its-kind maternity range has already helped 30,000 women avoid pregnancy stretch marks, says the company selling the products.

Researchers from University College London worked on the technology behind the knickers, which cover the bump and hold the skin in place, dispersing the pressure as the skin stretches and blocking the path of stretch marks using pads placed in an irregular pattern.

The company behind the invention, Secret Saviours, sells the briefs for $90 alongside $90 “bump bands”, $120 bras, $140 leggings and $120 shorts — which together are also said to prevent stretch marks forming on the breasts, thighs and bottom.

The underwear, which is to be worn every day and removed in the evening, is part of a three-step programme that includes a day gel and nightly massage cream, which cost extra.

The range has been tested in formal clinical trials and is said to support the back, bumps and breasts from pregnancy aches “while enhancing every woman’s natural curves”.

Dr Stephen Barker, a vascular surgeon at UCL, helped to develop the range.

He said it was “far better” to prevent stretch marks than try to cure them.

Founder and CEO Sophie Hooper, a mother of two, said: “Stretch marks affect over 80 per cent of women during pregnancy, and while some women embrace them as their well-earned tiger stripes, some are left with life-long mental scars.”

Ms Hooper said she suffered physically and mentally from her stretch marks.