Postpartum Hair Falling

It IS normal. It could take quite a while to stop falling out. I was advised NOT to wash everyday and NOT to pull it up tightly.
Long hair is more noticeable when it falls out.

Print these responses for the hubs- it's totally normal!! I didn't get any bald spots, but my hair came out in bunches at a time for several months! It was worse for me after my second baby, but it happened both times. If you get a thick comb made for wet hair, sometimes you can comb it out in the shower so that it's not shedding as heavily all day.

haha! Do you ever think how unfair it is everything women go through when we have our babies?! I love being a mom. i love pregnancy. I love new babies. I love when they get older...BUT...is it really necessary to have it pull our muscles all out of shape, (I'd complain about stretch marks, but they totally don't bother me!), get flappy boobs, go bald...and men wonder why we sometimes have image issues, especially after we have babies!

Anyway, to answer your question, it is TOTALLY normal. There's several reason for it. There is the hormone change, which happens around 3 months post-baby. There's nothing you can do about this. Typically you lose all that extra hair you grew in while prego.

It can also be caused from malnutrition (if you're nursing especially), so be sure to eat well and take some vitamins. I take EmergenC.

Finally, a HUGE cause of it continuing beyond the normal hairloss phase is FAT! You need more fat. When I had my 4th baby 11 months ago, I did NOT want to go bald again. I lose so much hair. I swear half of it falls out. So, I researched and researched and one of my online buddies, who is way into nutrition said that I needed more fat. I know we hear to avoid it (you should watch "Fat Head" if you struggle with the idea of fat - it has very interesting info!). But I went ahead and ate more fat. When I made my ground beef, I didn't drain it. I did make sure ot get organic beef. I didn't want to eat any weird stuff in the fat. But I didn't drain my fat out. I kept it in and ate my food. I made sure to eat meat a lot more than I was (I was close to vegetarian). I specifically ate more beef than I was (that was VERY rare prior).

Anyway, I lost my hair at 3 months. It came out for about a month, and then it STOPPED! I have never had that happen before. I am a huge believer in eating the fat when nursing... :-)

Hope that helps. Find fat wherever you can and eat it regularly. There are lots of foods that have it. Coconut milk does (you can find yummy ice cream recipes) and avocados (they make yummy shakes) and then leaving it in your meat.

Good luck, baldy!

totally normal. The way my sylist explained it to me is that when you are pregnant your hair grows more slowly and shed less so once you have the baby and your hormones start shifting again the excess starts to fall out. It usually gets worse once you stop b-feeding.

Mine seemed to fall out in handfuls for about 3 months, but it slows down.

Keep taking your prenatal vitamins, that may help some. My hair falls out like crazy too, my baby is months. Im pretty sure its normal, but if youre worried, ask your Dr :)

Totally and completely normal.

Normally your body retains hair for a certain length of time and then you lose it; during pregnancy your body holds the hair follicle longer; so postpartum, you start to lose that "excess" hair.

Here's more reassurance: http://www.marchofdimes.com/yourbody_hair.html

I have 4 kids.
My youngest is 7 months old.
I breastfeed her.

THIS IS NO LIE. I was almost ready to ask this question last night after my shower.

I am still taking my prenatal vitamins. I also take SloFe ( that's for iron ).
I eat well. I am in good shape ( well expect for my kangaroo pouch ).

And I don't know why, maybe it's the hormones - about WHY am I losing sooooooooo much hair.

I fell like I am going to go bald.

One thing I have heard about before is that breastfeed will strip your body of vitamins. It will cause you to have thin hair.

You know it sucks that while we are trying to do our very best to make, carry, deliver, feed, and care for our litte ones that our body has to go threw so much.

Talk to your Dr.
Drink LOTS OF WATER.
Try to get some extra sleep. OK, I know that's impossible.

Take care

The same thing happened to me with both kids postpartum. It really started falling out when I quit nursing and I believe it has something to do with the shift in hormones. But rest assured, it will grow back! Good luck!

Yes. Unfortunately, you may have Alopecia. Some are born with it, some develop it later when the body is stressed out. It was gradual for me. I started losing with my first child, and by the third, I was bald. I've been bald for 8 years, and it's just who I am now. I love wearing cute wigs and freaking people out when they ask me where I got my hair done. If you ever want to talk, you can find me on Facebook. G. Pitre Hansen.
My prayers are with you. It's not easy, I know. God Bless.

I had the same thing happen. My hair fell out in clumps. It was stress from the birth and anemia. Go to the doctor's they will give you iron and vitamins and it will reverse. Get help before it gets worse. And congrats on your little one. They are such blessings. - K

YES!!! I even had two spot's that were bald! Believe me, I was freaked out too! But do you breastfeed? That can be one of the reason's. My hair use to be thick too, but it will grow back..Just limit washing your hair, also make sure you comb your hair with a comb so you can massage your scalp. Also, keep taking your prenatal vitamin's too! It's going to take a year for your body to re-gain the nutrients after giving birth to a child. But it really is normal. Also limit any chemical's you put in your hair, hairspray, gel, mousse, etc. I have 3 children and my hair is normal! But I can totally relate to what your going through! It'll be fine and you will re-gain your beautiful hair back! Hope I was helpful!

I feel your pain! Every day since my youngest (now 18mo) hit about 5mo. I haven't seen a doctor about it, but I do hate it. My hair is the only part of me I consider myself vain about, so it's quite frustrating sometimes. Get checked if you're truly concerned, but it's completely normal to some extent.

Trust me. I went through the same thing and it grows back. Makes you think you're going bald but you won't. It's because when your pregnant you stop loosing your hair at all like you naturally do, then a couple months after having the baby it starts playing "catch up". It will even out and should be fine.

While we are pregnant we don't drop hair as we normally do. After the birth of the baby, we start to drop all the hair we didn't during the pregnancy. So, it is startling when it seems to be falling out by the handful.

Extreme hair loss can be an indicator of other problems such as thyroid dysfunction, stress or nutritional deficiency.

For me, after a blood panel found my thyroid levels to be normal but the hair loss continued, I turned to my acupuncturist / nutritional medicine doctor Therese Walsh-Van Keuren, LAc /PhD in Los Gatos.. She prescribed nutritional supplements and treated me for stress. Hair loss stopped and energy improved.

Congrats on the new addition to your family! Completely normal ... to an extent. I had the same issue ... hair coming out by the handful and I didn't think anything of it. Happened to go to the Dr for something else and she tested my thyroid with a simple blood test and found out that my levels were "abnormally low" as she put it. On thyroid meds since and all is good.
Seeing the doc may not be a bad thing ... just to put your mind at ease.

Don't worry, so is mine! I have a 3 month old, my third, and had forgotten how much hair you loose. It does grow back, just be patient. If you look closely, you'll see new tiny new hair starting to grow back. I know it's alarming at the quanity you are loosing, but remember that you didn't loose any while you were pregnant. It's just your body's way of making up for it... darn it! Take care!

Yep. I had some small bald spots, too, and I hated it. Your hair will stop falling out soon and will regrow back.

Totally normal... My hair stopped from falling when my baby turned 1 year old. Take your vitamins and eat well.... The most important thing is to check that you do not have spots with no hair... In that case call your doc. Be patient... N.

Totally normal, happened after both my kids, handfuls came out! It eventually returns to normal. Eat well and take your vitamins.