Postpartum Hair Loss

Hi J.,

I went through the same thing, in fact I am still experiencing it, but not as much. My son is 7 months, and after he was born I noticed my hair just everywhere, the shower, after I brushed it.... it was really crazy. I ended up getting some blood work done and found our I have a thyroid condition. Losing your hair is a very common with an overactive thyroid.I have read that after you have a baby, and overactive thyroid is common in some women. They can put you on a medication that can help. I'm not sure if thats whats wrong, but its worth a shot to make sure that everyone's ok. Good Luck!

I feel your pain. I have fine/thin hair to begin with. Knowing all along I would never have a thick head of hair like I always wanted, I was shocked to see all of what little hair I had falling out in clumps especially in the shower. It continued to fall out for about a good 8 months. My baby is now a year old and my hair is now back to normal. My one huge piece of advice. Don't do anything drastic to your hair. Coloring especially! It will make your hair fall out worse, MUCH worse. My doctor said to continue taking my pre-natal vitamins and it would help w/ the hair loss problem. That advice didn't work for me but may work for you.
K.

I think this is normal. I lost a lot of hair around the same time post partum with both my kids. With the second one, it actually looked like I had a receding hair line on one side of my head. Everything got back to normal for me, and my little one is eight months old now.

Hi J. - I'm 3.5 months postpartum and am also losing lots of hair. I also lost hair w/ my first son. If I remember correctly the heavy hair loss lasted for about 2/3 months. Then it returned to normal shedding. Thankfully I then noticed new hair growth but it took time for it to grow back in. It came in almost like baby hair at first but I didn't care as long as it came back. My hair loss is so bad that my temples are very thinned out if not some- what bald. I went to my doctor today and I'm going to have some blood work done including a thyroid check. I didn't have tests done the first time. Your hair will eventually stop falling out and new hair will grow back. Try a new haircut and shampoo formulated for thinner hair to get thru this. I had bangs put back in.

Hang in there and try a new cut - S.

Hey J.
Don't worry about the hair loss. This is totally normal and will stop in a few months. Your hair will be normal again soon!
Good luck! M.

Are you still taking your pre-natal vitamins? With my first child, I stopped taking them and my hair fell out like mad but with my last one (he's 9 months now) the hair loss was much less (I'm still taking those vitamins even though I stopped breastfeeding at 6 months old). If you are out of them, try taking regular multi vitamins. Maybe its a coincidence, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. good luck!

It is annoying to have the hair all over the place. I am pregnant with my third so I've gone through the cycle of thickening and thinning a couple times now. It seems like it lasts forever - I'd say you could easily notice it continuing for another 7 months. In a way I'd look forward to it. My hair always felt way too thick by the time I delivered so I was ready for SOME thinning. Except for REALLY rare situations, you won't lose all of it even though it seems like it some days. The thing that helped me - at least deal with the hair all over - was to take a thick comb into the shower with me and cover the drain with something to catch the hair. I'd do plenty of combing while I shampooed - It seemed like it fell out a lot after my showers and so this helped pull out most of the loose hairs all at the same time so they weren't all over me after I got out of the shower. It seemed to make it so I'd lose fewer hairs in between showers so it felt like I had some control over it and wasn't always covered in hair.

My youngest is 14 months old. I lost TONS of hair like that too... I'm still loosing hair like that 14 months later! I went from having very think hair now, just about normal. So bad that in the middle of my showers I have to clean out the drain! I was also breastfeeding up until the 16th... They say that has something to do with it too...

You sound normal, but if you're really concerned you can talk to your ob/gyn or your child's ped.

Hi Jenn,

I experienced the same thing. My hairdresser recommended a shampoo for me (it's a natural shampoo) called Phyto http://www.phyto-usa.com/hairloss.asp, and they have one product specifically for thinning hair or hair loss... my experience has been that it works GREAT. It's a little bit pricey... but it's worth it. Hope this helps.

:-) M.

Hi. I am 6 months postpartum and still losing hair!!!!!!!! I am a first time mom and my friend who had a baby 6 months before me warned me it would happen! It has slowed down but it was really coming out around 5 months. My hair was thin to begin with and I can defintiely see a difference. I am told it will stop. Like I said, it is really slowing down but it is still coming out! Nothing to worry about, totally normal!

Boy, do I remember that and will it ever end. It really is normal and it will end. For me it took about a year before my hair was back to normal.

I was about 7-8 months post partum before my hair stopped falling out in chunks! It will stop though! If it doesn't stop by a year, i would talk to your doc!

I also had this happen to me between the 4th and 12th months postpartum. I have thick hair to begin with and I never grew it ALL back, but most of it. It is very normal but could be the sign of a thyroid condition. Talk to your doctor about getter a simple blood test to check your thyroid levels. Pregnancy has been known to throw these levels out of whack. Good luck.

Hi,

Not to scare you or anything but my son is 7 years old and I'm still pulling clumps of hair out of the shower drain everyday. I don't think it gets better. I find it everywhere, all over everything.

I would go to the Doc. He will probably check your thyroid. I believe hyperthyroidism causes this.

In conversation with my hairdresser that hair loss can continue up to 18 months after birth. She informed me that the hair will grow back. As in all cases it never hurts to touch base with your doctor to see what he/she recommends. Hope this helps.