Post Partum Hair Loss - Stuart,VA

I am having the same problem. My daughter will be 4 months in a week and my hair too started falling out around the time she was 2 months. I know that it is normal but I think I might soon run out of hair. It is coming out in clumps every time I run my hands through it or comb it. It is so bad that I just keep it in a pony tail. I don't know what to do about it but keep me posted if you hear of ony ideas.

Hi M.! When I lost some of my hair my doctor recommended Zinc. Although he also said that a multivitamin would work just fine. I would imagine prenatals would be great too if you still have some. Good luck, I know it can be worrisome. :)

the same thing happened to me and my friend. If you think that it is more than the normal hair loss after birth, then go to your doctor and have them draw some routine labs and a thyroid level to make sure everything is okay :)

I've got the same problem. I asked my mother about it and she said it happened to her too. We've always been a family of thick haired folks so I was a little worried. Everyone, even my Doc, says this is normal. Changing hormones and finally having your body to yourself again can affect you in weirdest ways. My son is now 5 months old and things seem to be getting back to normal with my hair. The clumps are getting smaller by the day. There for a while I was afraid to brush or wash my hair. The drains were getting all clogged...it was gross. I got over that feeling pretty quick when I realized that I can't handle going even 2 days without washing my hair. It makes me feel dirty.
So I figure all the new moms out there, lets be bald and proud as long as our babies are adorable....No one is looking at you anymore anyway. LOL

M.,

Scared the heck out of me too! I nursed - someone told me it had to do with the lactation hormones. It got a little less after the first month or so, but really didn't stop until I quit nursing. I promise, you're not going to end up bald!

K.

M.,
I remember when this happened to me! My hair came out in clumps in the shower. Basically, the way it was explained to me is this: You know how your hair gets so thick when you are pregnant from all the hormones? Well, after giving birth, as the hormones change again, you'll lose all that extra hair that you got while pregnant. I hope this helps to ease your mind.
K.

www.discoverytoyslink.com/K.

I am a licensed cosmetologist and in school we learned that there are some things you can do to help with hair loss. Like you probably figured out, yours is due to a fluctuation in your hormones. Sometimes dramatic weight loss, medications, stress, or an illness can cause hair loss too. One of the things we were taught that helps is stimulating your scalp with light massages while shampooing your hair (don't use your nails! Just the pads of your fingers) Also taking a good multi vitamin is said to help too. The good news is that once your body balances out, the cyle of hairgrowth will too. You should have a fatter pony tail six months from now! Good luck and congratulations on the birth of your son!

I don't have any advice as that I have the same problem. The difference is that my daughter is now 2 and my hair is still coming out by the handfulls. Could it be also related to stress that is making it do this?

I have a 4 & 5 year old daughter and I also experience the same hair loss it's very scary however Doctors that I have contacted regarding this situation seem to think there is nothing to worry about, so 5 years after having my 1st child i still experience the hair loss, the good news is I'm not bald i have a head full of hair and it does grow back thicker.

R.. Paulsen

WELL AS A HAIRSTYLIST ITS NORMAL FOR U TO HAVE HAIR COMIN OUT TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR OR YOUR HAIR STYLIST ABOUT IT BUT TREATMENTS WILL HELP DEEP MOISTURIZING COND. AND STOP STRESSING ABOUT IT

I went through the same thing with after having both of my kids. The first was the worst and the second time wasn't so bad.

Basicly you have to grin and bear it. While this was happening I made sure that my diet was healthy and I still took my prenatal vitamins. Make sure that you take good care of yourself!

I know this is a scary thing to have your hair fall out because it seems like a lot but don't worry it will slow down as each month passes. It took me about a year and a half for the excessive shedding to stop.

Hang in there!
M.

This is perfectly normal. Another thing you might notice if you are breastfeeding exclusively is that you will hit another hair loss cycle in a few months when you offer solids. It's hormonal. My husband ribbed me about leaving my "pets" all over the place and how he was even finding them on the ship!

It was rediculous how much hair I lost after I had my son. I would fill up my brush & cover the floor with hair every day! I have read up on it and apparently during pregnancy our body doesn't shed hair on a daily basis like it usually does. (that is why they say pregnant women have beautiful hair) After labor your body tends to loose the extra hair your body built up during pregnancy. Be patient , it may take a couple of months ut it wont be any thinner than before.

Hey M.. I have lost SOO much hair myself its getting all in the vaccum im backing up our shower and im still ok i couldnt figure it out myself and was frantic.. I have no blad spots. so its all fine. I didnt lose hair like this till my second one and shes now around 13 months. and i still lose alot. i think its just our bodies just getting back to normal and you know it takes a long time

HI, M.! FIRST LET ME TELL YOU I ALWAYS TYPE IN ALL CAPS, I HAVE A NERVE CONDITION AND IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR ME. IF YOUR HAIR LOSS IS REALLY GREAT, SUCH AS LEAVING BALD SPOTS IN YOUR HEAD THEN I'D MOST LIKELY SEE A DR FOR SURE. BUT I AM A 33 YR OLD MOTHER OF 2 AND EVER SINCE I GAVE BIRTH TO MY FIRST CHILD I HAVE HAD SOME HAIR LOSS MY HUSBAND COMPLAINS ABOUT ME CLOGGING UP THE SHOWER AND THE TUB BUT I CANT HELP IT. BUT IT STILL ISN'T NOTICABLE,IT GROWS BACK, I GUESS!BUT I ALSO DYE MY HAIR PRETTY RELEGIOUSLY!!LOL!!GOOD LUCK!SINCERELY,T. BASS

You could take a good prenatal vitamin supplement or drink knox geletin as these will help strengthen your hair and may help with the hair loss. However, it is normal to loose greater amounts of hair after your baby is born, and this is because most women actually have thicker hair when they are pregnant due to the extra nutrients and hormones that the body is producing and when they taper off you have some hair loss. If you can try brushing your hair several times a day, this will help remove those loose hairs before they end up at the bottom of the shower and just look like you lost half your head of hair.

This happened with all three of my kids,and althought it is very scary,they say its normal.My daughter is now 15 months old and my hair is still coming out, more than nornal,but the hair dresser says I have no bald spots,Thank God,and there is plenty of new growth.I guess I'll just hafta keep cleaning the drains and sweeping the bath more than usual.Just remember to keep takng your vitamins and learn to grin and bare it,also we have well water,which I'm told wreaks havoc on hair,go figure!
Good Luck and try not to stress to much,R.

You aren't having actual hair loss. When you're pregnant, you just lose less, so when you have the baby, you have to catch up. It's good for you. You are shedding dead hairs that would've fallen out anyway in the last 10 months had you not been pregnant. There isn't anything you can do about it. You aren't going bald I assure you. I have always had a head full of thick hair, and when the big handfuls started coming out after my first child, I did freak out. But I'm not bald almost 3 kids later! Nor do I have any "thin" areas or bald spots. Brush your hair a few times a day so you don't feel like a Golden Retriever leaving hair everywhere, and take some vitamins. Also, if you wear your hair down, it won't seem like as much is coming out. you know when you know up your hair or ut it in a ponytail, then pull out the band its all full of hair? If you leave it down, you won't see so much at one time. I couldn't take prenatals and used Flintstones instead, but continued even after my kids were born. Your changing hormones and the stopping of vitamins into your system all the time are the cause. In a few short months everything will go back to normal.

Although it can be normal, it could also indicate a problem with your thyroid. I experienced the same thing after my son was born, thinking it was due to the changes from the pregnancy, etc. When I finally went to the doctor, I found that the other symptoms of hypothyroidism (low thyroid) were also easy to blow off as normal - being tired, poor circulation, intolerant of cold, more difficult time losing weight, etc.

Its under-diagnosed because these symptoms aren't things that would generally get us to the doctor, but its something to think about. It may not be, but a quick blood test and a pill have made SUCH a difference in how I feel.

Nothing that can be done unfortunately. We you were pregnant you probably didn't lose any hair (like the normal amount that you lose in a brush or when showering). It is catch up time. This is just that extra hair that your body was hanging on to during pregnancy. It seems like a scary amount, but you should look just as you did prepreg - just won't have the full body that you luck out with during pregnancy.

Keep taking vitamins. Take a once a day women's vitamin, or just continue taking prenatal vitamins. You will have beautiful nails and hair, also increased energy. You will still loose hair for up to 6months postpartum. The vitamins will help you to make stronger hair. It worked for me. My hair has never been so thick and healthy and shiney. I get complements all the time

I had hair loss until my son was 14 months old. It is normal and it is scary at the same time. Don't worry, you won't go bald. When I would really start pulling out a lot I would go have my hair done at a salon and it always seemed to help to get the dead ends off. Sometimes it would take a couple of weeks before I would start losing it again. There is also relaxing benefits to the salon for a new mommy so try and do this once every 3 months if you can. I started losing it in my early months of pregnancy and my hair really never thinned from what I noticed.

This happened to me too. The hormones you make while your pregnant prevent the hair that would normally fall out from doing so. Think back to your brush during your 9 month pregnancy.. how often did you actually have to clean your hair out of your brush (me? I never did). So all that hair that you would have had to clean out of your brush is now falling out.

Mine was soo bad that my sister complained that 2 weeks after a visit she was still cleaning my hair up! Whats worse is that my son managed to eat a strand of my hair, and I had to pull it out of his hiney after a poopie lol.

You will end up with the same hair thickness you started with. It took my hair about 3 or 4 months to finish falling out. It can be scary but it is perfectly normal.

If your hair is falling out in clumps and leaving bald spots, which is absolutely not normal, you should talk to your doctor. But a 50 cent peice sized wad at your shower drain is perfectly normal.

Good luck with your new baby!
J.

Your hair loss is actually very normal. When you are pregnant your body doesn't shed very much hair, if any at all. You are not going bald you are just shedding the hair that wasn't lost durring your pregnancy. It may seem like a lot, but it is probably not as much as you think. I am a hair stylist and a new mom, so I see this a lot, in fact on myself right now.

I cna't add too much to the mix, just that I also lost a ton of hair after all my kids. I do have pretty thick hair so it was not noticable but do keep taking your vitamins and use a wider tooth comb or brush so as not to pull on your hair as much.

Post partum hair loss is a natural occurance. During your pregnancy your hair may have gone into a resting phase in which it was not shedding at its normal rate. As your horomones balance out so does your hair. Continuing to take your prenatal vitamins and deep conditioning treatments will may help. The biotin in the prenatal vitamins will promote healthy hair growth and the deep conditioning treatment will keep your hair strong with less breakage. Redken makes a deep conditioning treatment called 'Extreme: Rescue Force'. If used too much it could cause the hair to be brittle though so you would only want to use it once every week or every two weeks. A good moisturing shampoo would also be good for you to use along with it.

Anyway, hope this helps :)

B.