Major Hair Loss Since Baby

HI... I had it, too.. and my daughter is 7 months now and it has stopped now that I am back on tracj w/ menstral cycle.. It was all of a sudden that it cleared up. have faith... you will not go bald! :)

I started losing my hair when my baby was 4 months, and it just fell out for what seemed like forever! You don't realize how much hair you grew until it all starts falling out! So, yes, it is very normal.
As to the lady with the bigger feet? Yes, my feet grew a size and my daughter is now 17 months, and they never went back down. I finally got rid of my shoes, 16 pair to be exact!! But, hey! I got to go shopping!!

I don't know anything that can help, but I can tell you that I went through the same thing! Mine did ease right around the 6 month mark--so an end may be in sight. I even brought a sample to the doctor to show her how much I was losing eachday and she said it was normal!

*laugh* I actually was anxiously discussing my hair with my hair dresser when I was about 6 months post baby because I didn't think it was normal to lose "that much!" hair. When you were preganany, the hormones helped your hair grow at a rate that is generally abnormal. Now that your hormones are changing, the effects are showing in your hair. Your hair will be thin for a little bit, but upon close inspection, you will see new growth. It will just be slower.

It lasts a different amount of time for each person. Breast feeding may factor in as well. For me, months 4-7 were the worst. But then, I also dried up between months 3.5 and 5.

As long as you are otherwise healthy, don't worry to much about it. It is a drag, I know. But it will get better.

Good morning!
I know you will hate to hear this but I speak from experience........ it will stop falling out after the cycle is complete. I too have had major hair loss after my 2 daughters were born. I felt that I was the only one out of all our friends having babies to go through this. I saw many different doctors and finally the dermatologist that I saw explained it as this..... your hair always cycles with loss and growth. Well while you are pregnant the hair loss cycle slows and even sometimes stops- due to the hormones your body is dealing with. When you are done with the pregnancy the hair loss or "shedding" stage kicks in to high gear and you loose so much more (it seams) because you have more to lose since the pregnancy produced more hair and shed less. I thought I was going to be bald. I cried almost everytime I brushed my hair and I would get a sick feeling knowing I was going to wash it and brush it and see all the hair that had fallen out. It does stop and it will all come back. With both my girls I stopped about 6-8 months after they were born. The hair comes back and you will start to see little growth spirts with your hair. Some tricks...... brush your hair in the shower when you have conditioner in it (it helps to brush the conditioner out with colder water-It closes the hair follicle) and then do not brush it again till the next shower. Be careful wearing your hair pulled back too tight. And change your pillow case to satin or something slippery. Hope these help. Just keep in mind....... it DOES come back! Oh yeah..... congrats on the birth of your baby!!! C.

I'm curious if you had a girl?! When I had my son I lost a lot of hair post-partum, but not chunks, but with my daughter two years later, I lost large amounts! It peaked for me around 9 months post-partum, but didn't really go back to "normal" until she was about a year old. What helped me a little was using conditioner and combing my hair (with the conditioner in it) while in the shower. I caught the hair and threw it away right away rather than collecting it out of the drain. Then I would shampoo my hair again to rinse the slimy feeling of the conditioner away. You could wear a hairnet (ha ha ha) while you're at home! I actually did that to cook because no matter how careful I was, my husband always found a hair in his dinner--- so appetizing!
Now my hair feels different- thinner and coarser- but not thin. I am sure you are normal! However, if you're really worried call your OB or midwife.

Hi there,
I am the same way, I literally have bald spots on the top of my head for a while, and now that it's growing back, little spikes in places, so ugly. Anyway, it's normal as you know, for me, I start growing back instead of loosing around 7 months, I'm sure it's different for every one, but I'm sure your through the worst of it. Good luck!

First contact your ob/gyn you may need a month or two of light hormone therapy. Some hair loss is normal, the hair loss you describe is not normal. Yes eventually the hair grows back. Also continue to take your prenatal vitamins. They are rich in folic acid and iron. As a hairdresser of almost 30 years I have discovered prenatal vitamins are beneficial at any age.

I know it sucks but it is normal. Some days I swear I think I'm going to go bald so much comes out. I didn't want to cut my hair any shorter so this is what I've started to do to keep from shedding all over the place. During the day I keep my hair in a braid or pony tail with barrettes holding back the front (I have layers around my face.)

Before I get in the shower I brush my hair a lot. Then when I have the conditioner in my hair I run a fine tooth comb through it. The person who talked about seeing a dermatologist is right it's just a cycle you have to go through (from what I've read this process usually takes 6-12 months once it starts and it usually starts 3 months after giving birth.)

Several people mentioned possible thyroid problems, and yes hair loss is a symptom of hyperthyroidism. But unless you have some other symptoms your probably fine.

Good luck and congratulations on the new baby.

My second son is almost 11 months old. My hair loss has just recently slowed down. I was losing a lot of hair daily. Hang in there.

It seems like it lasted for about six months or so but it is very normal, and what a pain the drain and vacuum do really take a toll.

M.,

Same thing happened to me, it has been two and a half years and my hair is still thin. My hair is just now slowly growing back. I think it has something to do with your hormones and all the work your body went through to make a baby.

I also had a substantial loss of hair after delivering and it did last several months. My doctor also said that stress could be a major factor also! Try suppliments and as much relaxation as you can have with a six month old baby! Good luck to you, N.

Have your Thyroid checked. You may be hyper thyroid. I had the same thing happen to me with my first child. I had to clean out the drain after every shower because I was losing so much hair. I also had other symptoms like always being hot, trouble sleeping and major weight loss. I'm talking 50 pounds in one month. Not that that was a bad thing.

So I went to a lactation specialist and she reccommended I ask my doctor to do a TSH and a T4 to see where my thyroid hormone levels were at. They were off the charts. After a year and a half of medication my thyroid levels were fine. I was lucky I didn't go through this with my second child.

Hope this helps.

K.

Have you had your thyroid levels checked out? After having a baby, you thyroid levels can change. One sign of something a miss with your thyroid is hair loss. Ask your doctor to check your levels. It is a simple blood test and they can get the results pretty fast too!

That doesn't sound normal. Have you had your thyroid hormones checked? Pregnancy can often trigger thyroid imbalances which can cause hair loss among other symptoms. Don't worry, if it is thyroid, it is often quite easily treated.

I went through the same thing and I also thought something was really wrong with me. It happened around 5 months post-partum and lasted for about 3-4 months. I lost chunks and hair was everywhere...I didn't think I could lose any more! I even asked the doctor and hair dresser, but they said it was normal. To this day (my son is 15 months), my hair is growing back to and it's very annoying. I have hair sticking straight up and even a little bit of bangs now! But it does go away and things will get back to normal soon. Try not to stress and enjoy your baby! Congrats!!!

I think it's different for everyone. Me for instance, I lost hair for about two months. You can always research about post part-um hair lost, to get peace of mind. What you're experiencing might be normal.

Have you had your thyroid checked? You may have something else going on besides normal post-baby hair loss. I lost lots of hair when I had thryoid problems.

When my son was 9 months old i finally gave up fighting the clogged drains. Bf, had his cousin (our landlord), come over with a snake to unclog the tub and i went to the salon (without telling BF and donated 12 inches to Locks of Love. At that point i had it! Taking 12 inches off left me with hair right above the shoulder. I still lost hair but it didn't seem like as much because it wasn't so long.

Not that i'm telling you to run out and chop your hair all off :o) thats just what i choose and was happier afterwards. My other suggestion would be to brush your hair before taking a shower to try to get most of the loose hair out first. I don't know when it stops. By the time my son was 12 months i was pregnant, i'm not looking forward to the hair loss again.

This happened to me too!!!! My doctor suggested taking Niacin supplements. What he didn't tell me was that because there is Niacin in prenatal vitamins that one can have a reaaaaly stong reaction to them. My suggestion would be to either halve the dose of Nicain or stop taking the prenatals. I am not a doctor and cannoe give out medical advice as such..... Niacin helps with regrowing hair but if you take more than the recommended dosage some side effects can be: rapid heart beat, heat flashes, feeling overheated or panicky in general. As most moms already said it will go away on its own in a few months. But if you want a headstart you can try the Niacin. I would look it up online and see what the recommended dosage is and as I said see how much more you will be getting from any vitamins you are already taking. Once I changed my dose everything was fine, but that first day before I had done any research I thought I was having a heart attack!
Hope that helps
M.

Have your doctor check your thyroid. My numbers were really high. The meds fixed the hair loss, dry skin, being tired all of the time...it worked for me. Good luck.
S.

I've been having the same problem. I am breastfeeding and was told by my lactation consultant that once I stop breastfeeding I won't loose so much hair. She also said that my hair will thicken again. Are you breastfeeding? I hope this helps.

A little about me. I'm a firstt time mom with a 4 month old son. I've been happily married for 3 years.I live in Lincoln and am looking for friends.

I dont know if there is anything that can be done but I also dont think you have to worry. I lost a TON of hair with both of my babies. The interesting part is when it all starts growing back in, about 1 year after. I had a halo of small baby hair sticking up all the way around my head for some time. Fun to style. It will probably start to slow down soon.

I also experienced a ton of hair loss after having my 10 month old. It actually got worse after I finished breastfeeding, just as you were saying, HANDFULS of hair in the shower which lead to drain clogging. The bummer is there is really nothing you can do about it, it's a hormone change / imbalance, but don't worry it'll come back. I'm just now starting to see new growth . . . six months after I stopped breastfeeding. Good luck, it's probably not as noticeable as you think!

I lost a ton of hair starting about the time I stopped breastfeeding (last May) and only stopping, or slowing down, in the past couple of months. For a while, I really thought I might go bald, but I now seem to be back to pre-pregancy hair loss status. You should check with your doctor, but don't be too alarmed; apparently some of us lose a lot more than others!

Have you tried to take the hair nail vitamin, those work awesome. Mine did the same thing until after I was done breast feeding and I still get that way when the weather changes, never had it before the kids so my doc suggested that vitamin and it has worked for me

Hi M.,
All women go through this at different stages post partum. When it happened to me it lasted about a month. I would recommend taking a vitamin related to hair and nails, and using a shampoo rich in vitamin E. Also if you are really worried call your doc, she may be able to help!
Regards,
C.

This is the reason for the "mommy cut" short hair doesn't stop the hair loss but less hair to clog everything up ;0)

I think mine lasted until about 9 months. Make sure you are getting appropriate vitamins, and unless you are getting actual baldspots I would say to wait it out. this too shall pass ;0)

M

I don't remember how long my hair loss lasted, but I do remember being shocked by it! What is important to remember is that your hair thickened during pregnancy, and probably more than you realized. The current loss is part of your hair returning to "normal."

Poor thing!~ I know how urgh it feels. With my first pregnancy it fell out right at the hairline when bebe turned about five mos...grew back in at about nine.
It will return, I promise.
(Maybe stay away for the pony tail, if you can..how about a headband instead?)

Seems my feet grew a whole size with this second pregnancy....yikes. Anybody out there know if they'll ever go back??

R.
mum of two girls; (three years old and four mos)

Ask Dr to check your thyroid. This can be a red flag. Delivering a child and other (stressful) events can trigger hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism. I went towards hyper and appreciated them catching it before it became a problem. If you are around Walnut Creek, check out Dr. Norman Rosen.

Mine lasted from about 4-6 mo post partum, and then went back to normal. I've heard that in most cases you end up with about the same amount of hair that you had before pregnancy, since you usually grow extra hair then. It's no fun...hang in there.