Losing Hair at a Rapid Rate

Don't worry. I'm in the mist of the massive hair fallout for the second time with baby #2. With my first daughter I started noticing tons of new growth around her first birthday.

Happened to me too. I think some people just get a worse case of it than others (which was the case with me.) I even went and had my hormones tested after I had my first child. I was shocked to see all the test results come back normal. With the first child, I lost hair from when he was 3-6 months. With the second child, it was worse. Lost hair from when he was 2-6 months old. He is now 9 months and I have tons of 2 inch hairs that stand up all over the top of my scalp - peeking through the long hair. Looks like I have two sets of bangs. Kind of crazy, but at least it is growing back. Sorry this is happening. ONe of the many yucky side effects of having children.

I too have this. I have had it twice now since I have had 2 kids. I was told it's normal and one of those hormonal changes.

Do not worry!! Mine stopped falling out after a couple of months. Pregnancy hormones prevent your hair from falling out so you had 9 months of extra hair :) I have a 9 mo old and am still breastfeeding and I promise if it is pregnancy related then it will stop ... for now, invest in some Drano for your tub :)

Keep taking your prenatal vitamins, eat well and get a cut hair cut!

I lost a lot of hair after my dd was born. I'm going to say it took almost 2 years before I thought my hair looked better and I only nursed her for 9 months. Your hormones do awful things to your body. My hairstylist suggested I try amino acids to help hair growth, specifically a protein drink supplement called "Dessert" that you find at "The Vitamin Shoppe" or places like that. What I think helped me more was chinese herbs and accupucture. My doctor did a hormone panel and saw that my hormones were not balanced, I did accupuncture/herbs for a year, and I think my hair grew in alot thicker and healthier looking. So if you can afford it, you might consult with an practitioner of "Chinese Herbal Medicine". You can take the herbs only, you don't have to do the accupucture for it to work. I was doing accup. for other health reasons. By the way, the chinese doctor I went to helped me with seasonal allergies, poor sleep, as well as the hormone imbalance, so now I am a big believer in alternative treatments. She is in NW Austin if you need a referral.

My hair got so lush and grew so fast while I was pregnant...and then it all fell out (ok, not literally "all", but all the extra). I was a heavy shedder before I got pregnant, and while it isn't as bad now, I was losing hair at an alarming rate. It is more likely due to hormone shifts and less about breastfeeding--assuming that you are eating a well-balanced diet with sufficient caloric intake. Are you still taking a vitamin? I continued on with my prenatals right through breastfeeding. I had plenty of milk, lost weight, and felt pretty darn good for the 18 months I breastfed.

With rare exception, breatfeeding doesn't "take" anything from most women. If you are adequately fueling your body, there is plenty to go around.

After reading some of the other responses, I had to edit, you can check this in most pregnancy books. This is a well-known "side-effect" of pregnancy. You should only be alarmed if you are having handfuls of hair and bald patches...that might signify a problem. Clearly, there is still a lot of misinformation about breastfeeding out there!

Hi A.,

It is my understandign that while you are pregnant you do not lose your hair like you would usually do on a daily basis and that once you have had the baby it plays catch up and falls out much faster than usual.

My friends hair did it super crazee as in she had a bald spot, she ate very well while breastfeeding but this still happened. i don't think it has to do with the breast feeding, just your body adusting back to not being pregnant anymore. Your estrogen levels andprogesteron levels drop dramatically once the baby is born and both these affect your hair.

Make sure you are eating very healthy and maybe take a calcium supplement.

you may also want to have your thyroid checked becasue all sorts of things change during/after pregnancy and hair loss/thinning can also be a sign of low or high thyroid.

Hope this helps
C

Hi A.! Same thing is happening to me right now, I'm not worried because at my last ob/gyn visit I explained my concern and she said it's normal but this is the first time and I have 3 kiddos. My hair is really thick so you can't tell unless I say or show you. My hair is really thin at the front & sides, this is a normal thing after pregnancy, although I have a good friend that lost her hair and now it is very thin and you can tell but I'm not concerned as much because it is still falling out but not as much apparently it should stop but if not I would talk to your doctor about it. Good Luck!

dont worry dear,, your drop in hormones will do it every time. it will most likely happen at Menepause as well. hope the baby is wonderful.N.

you need to go to the doctor about this. your body is telling you something isnt right. keep taking your prenadal vitimans too. congrats on the new baby.

You might want to have your thyroid levels checked. A simple blood-test will tell your doctor if you need thyroid medication. Hair loss is a symptom of an off-balance thyroid.

That happened to me too when my little girl was the same age, i was also breast feeding. I never figured out why, as soon as i began to panic it began to thicken again on it's own. I would definitly consult your doctor though, and let them know of any medications you are taking. My doctor had to switch some of my daily meds that they thought may be counteracting with my vitamins. Good luck! I know it is scary. I remember looking at my hairbrush in terror! :) your doc will fix it!

During pregnancy our hair growth cycle slows down, and we don't lose all the hair we normally would "shed" on a daily basis. After pregnancy we lose all that hair fairly quickly, which causes temporary thinning of the hair. This can be disconcerting, but it is temporary in most of us. You should go back to a normal loss/growth cycle soon. All hormones!
Good luck, and keep breastfeeding.

Hi A., I have sort of been losing hair since having my 2nd child. You might want to get your thryoid checked. Mine is a little out of whack and will have to get on a prescription to help keep it under control. One of the symptoms is losing hair. Good luck!

It's normal. It happened to me both times but at about 3 months after giving birth. It grows back-I think mine started growing back around 6 months. If you are concerned just ask your doctor. There are very few things you can 'give' your child (by breastfeeding), so I wouldn't be worried that you are passing on some disease or something. Keep taking your prenatal vitamin and eat right for your sake and for you child's. You can take care of him if you aren't taking care of yourself.

I did the same thing and lost some of my hair. It is a hormonal thing and your hair will grow back.

Just wanted to agree with the others - this too happened to me with my first child. My second is 6 weeks old..so I am preparing myself for round 2 of the hair shedding. I experienced it right around the same timeframe you are having it - 5 months. It can be very alarming. My bathtub would be full of hair everytime I washed my hair! And it was noticably thinner around my temples.

My advice is to relax, keep taking your prenatals and see your hairdresser for a pamper yourself haircut/style. It will come back :-)

Congratulations on your new addition,
H

I had the same thing happen to my hair after the birth of my son. It is called Postpartum Alopecia. You will eventually stop loosing your hair. My son is 17 mo., my hair is just now getting back to normal. Good luck, don't worry your body will get back to normal, just enjoy your precious little one.

Take a hair skin and nail vitamin and make sure you are eating right and still taking your prenatal vitamins. If you are really worried, go see your Dr. I t is most likely hormone related.

I have had three kids...I did not lose hardly any hair after having my first. With my last two babies, my hair fell out at dramatic rates. While my hair really never recovered to its pre-baby #2 and #3 lushness, it has tapered off in its rate of loss.

Everyone has posted some good advice and you should definitely touch base with your doctor just to make sure you have crossed your t's and dotted your i's.
Check out my husband's blog for information about hair loss and pregnancy: http://www.bringfitnessback.com/blogengine.net/post/2009/....

I hope this helps. I think one of the worst things that can happen to women is to see our hair falling out. It is so stressful. Hang in there!

What's happening is completely normal! Pregnancy hormones keep your hair from falling out as much during pregnancy--so you probably got used to your thicker hair. But around this time after birth, all that extra hair that didn't fall out didn't those 9 months starts to fall out. Your hair is thinning, but it's just getting back to "normal," and it will stop well before you go bald! (If you have What to Expect When You're Expecting, check the index for hair or hair loss--they address this issue in the book.)

This is normal and happened with both of my kids. My hair was never the same again, but it did come back in, just more wavy! If you're concerned, I would call your doctor, but it is a normal phenomenon. If you're nursing, be sure to continue taking your prenatal vitamins until you're finished and be sure you're eating a good diet (and a little more of it!). I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you're having bald spots or something drastic like that. Congrats on the new baby!

After the birth of my son, my thyroid doctor explained to me that I would notice hair loss for 6 months after he was born. It's a medical condition, has a name though I don't remember it, caused by the hormone changes of pregnancy and birth.

I would go see a doctor about this problem before breastfeeding my child again. What if there is something wrong with you that is causing this and could it be harmful to your baby? Always see a doctor if there is something not normal going on with your body.

A.,

I lost huge amounts of hair after the birth of my daughter. I would recommend getting your thyroid levels checked. That is a sign of hypothyroid. You are usually very tired and have trouble focusing. I know it can be confused with being a new mom. My hair fell out by the handfuls. I felt like a new person to start medication. I wish you the best.

No worries, A.! As many others have said, this is totally normal. Due to the hormones produced during prenancy and the chemicals in prenatal vitamins, your body takes a hiatus from shedding hair. This is why many women experience thickening hair during those 9 months. (Oh, how I miss that!) While the body is re-adjusting hormonally after the birth, your hair begins to shed again. Only now, it is not only shedding it's typical amount, but also the hair you should have lost during your pregnancy. Basically, the shedding kicks into overdrive after being dormant. Although it might take a couple of months, the amount of hair loss will recede (no pun intended). After experiencing this with my first child, I opted to get a short haircut just before the birth of my second. :) Best of luck and congrats on your baby boy!

A., this happened to me when my son was the same age. It scared the living daylights out of me because I had never heard this was something to be expected. It is very normal! It fell out in huge clumps. I thought I would go bald. My hair went through a boring stage for sometime but nothing anyone else would have noticed. It's fine now. It's just your hormones changing/adjusting. It's not related to breastfeeding at all. With my daughter (my second), however, I did lose hair when she was the same age but nothing like I did with my son. I would mention it to your doctor, just so she knows. However, as far as I know and have been told by my doctor is it is completely normal.