Whether or not they lost hair during pregnancy, most women will experience some degree of hair loss after the baby is born. This can occur from one to five months after delivery. Three months post partum is the average time for the most noticeable hair loss.
The reasons for this hair loss are similar to the reasons for most side effects of pregnancy: your hormones. Gradually over the weeks and months following your baby’s birth, your hormone levels will return to normal. Shedding hair is one of the side effects of this shift in hormones back to the pre pregnancy state.
It is very common for women to be alarmed by the amount of hair coming out in the shower, in the drain or in the hair brush. The volume of hair leaves women in fear of developing bald spots. Fortunately, this is not likely to happen. The hair loss, while it appears to be excessive, is really not serious enough to leave large bald patches on your head.
Typically, after the baby turns three months old, the shedding will begin to subside. By the time baby reaches the age of six to twelve months, the hair loss should have returned to normal shedding that we all experience. At any given time, ten percent of the hair follicles are in a resting phase, also known as hair shedding.
If you are breastfeeding, you may not experience this hair loss immediately. Some breastfeeding mothers don’t experience the hair loss until the menstrual periods have returned. This varies widely among new mothers, but often doesn’t happen until the baby is eating solid foods or even approaching the first birthday. If you are breastfeeding and notice shedding after your menstrual cycle returns, don’t be alarmed. It is likely to be caused by the shift in your hormones.
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