Hair Loss - Pittsburgh, PA

Yup!!! I lost a lot of hair after giving birth to my daughter. My doc said that when you are pregnant you don't shed as much hair so after you give birth you lose that hair plus the normal amount of hair you lose on a daily basis. Fun times:-)

Yes! My hair started falling out around 3months after my daughter was born. I found this very alarming and stressful! But it did stop after a month or so. And, I found getting a nice haircut to be super helpful. This is totally normal, but it apparently doesn't happen to everyone. Luck us!

My twins are 9 months old and finally my hair loss is slowing down! I have all this new hair coming in which looks terrible but at least I know it's coming back. Same thing happened with my first son. To make myself feel better I went and got a shorter haircut and now I don't feel so self-conscious.

This happened to me, too, with both of my children. Isn't it amazing that even months after pregnancy ends, your body still isn't "normal'! :) Hormones are such a strange thing. Besides the hair loss, I actually broke out in horrible hives all over my body for 2-3 days when both of my babies were 8 weeks old...another fun hormonal perk!

This has happened to me after both my children, and it seems like it will never stop but it does - when my kids were about 5-6 months old. hang in there!

My son is just about 6 mos old. I think my hair loss is starting to slow down now. I would notice it the most in the shower, when I would rinse, I would be pullin many many many strands out, a few times too. It happened with my other pregnancies too.

My son is 16 months old and my hair is still falling out! My Dr. told me it should stop after a year but it hasn't. My hair doesn't seem any less thicker, but it's definately weird! I am going to try the vitamin thing. Good luck and please let us know how it turns out!

I am a stylist and yes this is normal. It happened to me both times around the 3- 4 months after I gave birth to my 2 children. It did eventually stop happening. It is becuase of the change in hormones.

L.

Absolutely! Your normal hair cycle is regulated with hormones and sort of gets stuck in the growing one while you are pregnant. So afterwards you go into the shedding phase. Normally the hairs are on alternate phases so you shed a bit but are growing new hairs too. During/after pregnacy the cycles all line upp and so it seems you are losing alot of hair ---- and you are, but you've probably accumulated extra while you were prgnant. It happened with all 3 of mine. It was the worst with my third - my ponytail ended up getting to about half normal thickness!

Yes my daughter is 4 months and it just started happening again it happened with all three of my kids at around the same time. It will stop eventually and my hhair never really seemed that much thinner afterward I did have those annoying baby bangs that tickled my face for a while though

It is normal. My hair didn't stop falling out until my daughter was 6-7 months old!

YES, A.! I'm so glad someone else has experienced this as well! (unfortunately... i'm sorry!)
My son is 3 months old, and I never noticed any changes in my hair (even in pregnancy) until now... My husband has been pulling huge clumps out of the shower drain and i noticed when i style my hair, i'm loosing a lot too! I've been very good about taking my vitamins and eating healthy, etc. if it's hormones, hopefully these they will go back to normal soon!! Everything else (hormone related) seems back in full swing/normal.
Good luck to you! I unfortunately don't have any advice, but i'm with ya girl!

Hi A....totally normal - I have 4 kids, and this happened 3-4 months after each birth. My hair looked a little thin at the temples, but eventually grew back normally and it looks fine now. Don't worry...be patient... :) R.

Sure, everyone goes through it! I went though it three times!! Relax, enjoy your baby and all will be well! Congrats & best wishes!

you may want to have your thirod checked. If it is low the hairloss will only get worse. It is common to after pregnancy for this to change it took me 5 years to figure it out after having my last child.

I lost so much hair too! It was very alarming in the shower some days. My daughter is now 3 and my hair (although pretty long) is almost back to the same length. The hair loss might come and go for a few months. Don't wear your hair in pony tails if it is that long, it will make it worse.

Hi A.,

I have heard of this, yes you do loose hair after pregnancy. I have a lot of hair and three kids, and after my first, I realized when I was pregnant, my nails were stronger, and I hardly lost any hair in the shower (I loose about a small palm size full.....no lie) After being pregnant, my nail went back to the same brittle self and I lost a ton of hair, it was making up for what I didn't loose, because of those pregnancy hormones. If after 6 months or so it doesn't slow down I would talk to the doctor again.......best wishes E.

TOTALLY had it happen, with both my pregnancies, and it grew back after my firstborn. Not so after the 2nd child. I'll caution you that having 2 kids now (like I do too) will make it easier for you to start neglecting yourself and not eat well. My hair KEPT falling out years after my 2nd was born. And while I also have thyroid problems that I didn't develop until my 2nd child came and that causes hair loss, I've desperately started focusing on eating well. I feed them fantastically but in the hustle & bustle of daily life I'd skip eating until dinner, with snacking in between, which is never good. Now I always prepare a 3rd plate (whether I'm actually hungry or not) with proper proportions and follow that food pyramid and eat more fish and sit down with my kids to eat at a slower pace. I've looked increasingly bald for 3 years, but in the past 2 months of eating better, I've suddently begun to feel my hair is thicker on top and it styles easily again and is also shiny again. I'm elated! Don't neglect your own health... that's my message to you! Good luck and good eating!

A.,
It can take up to 18 months for your body/hormones to return back to it's pre pregnancy state. I would also take the advice of the other woman who mentioned getting your thyroid checked out.

A. - i definatly think you should have your thyroid checked. Please read information on hypothyroidism and see if you have any other side effects. That was my first sign that something was not right. After having my third child i developed hypothyroidism. Now that it is under control all is better and my other side effects have subsided. I just have to take a thyroid pill daily. Good luck. J.

Hello A.,
It also happened to me. Now I didn't have patches missing on my head or anything like that, it just kinda was falling out when I would brush or wash it. My husband complained every time I forgot to clean the drain (like they don't shed either..lol) It will pass, don't worry. I actually worried too but my Doc said it was all normal and now it has stopped but it did last a long time, not sure how long though...had too much else to worry about and do.
Good luck!
Christina

I lost a lot of hair after my daughter was born as well. I was almost bald on the sides and the underneath hairline. It grew back in, but this time extremely curly (my own hair is straight). It eventually returned to normal.

Good morning, A.. I was 32 when I got pregnant the first time, and I had a girl. I was told that an older first time mom pregnant with a female fetus tends to have more that the usual amount of estrogen during the pregnancy.

All that extra hormone made all of my hair grow very thick and long. Apparently all that time the hair is proliferating, we don't lose any of the hair that we shed normally. Then-- after the baby is born, and our hormone levels go back to normal, we lose all the extra hair that we should have been losing all along.

Nutrition influences new mom's return to normalacy, including having healthy hair. If you are not seeing improvement by 6 months post partum, I would see a doctor again-- ask lots of questions. Good luck, take care, and enjoy those babies!

I'm pretty sure this happens to every mother after giving birth. From what I have heard and read AND experienced, you do not lose hair during pregnancy. Once you have given birth, the hormone levels go back to "normal" and the hair that should have been lost during pregnancy, will then be lost. Be prepared to clog a few drains! :)

Hi A.,

Hairloss after childbirth is completely normal. My hair fell out in clumps! It eventually stops - I can't remember when - but sometime around 6-8 months from what I recall.

Congrats on your new baby!

J.
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Yes. I was very concerned when I got out of the shower and seen a massive amount of MY hair in the drain! It has taken a few months but my hair is coming back in. No one noticed - thank goodness! But all the same it was very scary. I had even read that it would happen, but, again when it did I was still scared.

I have three children and it happened to me with each baby and with my first two within a year my hair was back to normal. But with my third it still isn't back and he is 14 months old. I am still nursing him so I don't know it that is why or maybe it is because I'm older now (36). So at this point I would not worry about your loss, I'm sure it will be fine. It is normal.

I too had the same thing happen to me, they said it was related to my thyroid. I had thyroid surgery back in april 2006 but still have the hair loss problem and they say it is due to early hair loss. I am only 33 so it seemed early.. I used this product called nioxin!! it is a shampoo and scalp therapy formula that really helps fall out and makes your hair thicker and healthier! good luck .. I know how you feel

"Yes dear" this is completely normal, mine did the same thing. It will stop eventually and go back to normal.

Yup, with each one of my kids. With the 1st, I lost alot! My hairdresser, believe it or not, was the one that warned me & I looked at her like she had 3 heads..! As in, say what..??! It was @ just about 4 mos, too. It's normal & it stops.

During pregnancy & afterwards, we go through ALL these changes whereby if we WEREN'T dealing with the pregnancy, there'd really be something wrong, right..? But, it's all because of baby....ain't life grand? :-)

My sister -in-law last alot of hair about the same time after she gave birth, it is definitly stress related!!! She cut her hair short and used Nioxin Hair treatment, you can get this at many local salons...Good Luck it does come back!

It actually happened to me but it wasn't really drastic. The egdes of my hair was falling out in the front. I was a lil freaked but my stylist said it was normal. So i stopped worrying which would have made it worse. It grew back.

I experienced the same thing, and was told that it was a normal part of having a baby. I would just keep an eye on how much hair you lose. My daughter is 8 months old, and my hair loss became so dramatic that I decided to go back to the doctor last month. She did some bloodwork and determined that I had developed post partum thyroiditis (which basically means that my thyroid is under producing and causing me to be hypothyroid.) The main symptoms are hair loss, fatigue and sensitivy to cold. It is pretty unusual, but a possibility to discuss with your doctor if you don't see an improvement in the next couple of months.