Postpartum Hair Loss... When Did It Stop, and Grow Back for You?

That happened with both my kids, it starte at about 3 mo. and feel out like I was a rapidly balding man, but at about 6 mo. It slowed down to almost a stop and now I have little whispys in my hair from where it is trying to grow back. It incredibly annoying, but have heart, it does grow back and the falling out stops. Just another one of those things that people forget to tell us before we go and have kids. :) :)

Been there... after my twins I lost about 1 or 2 inches right around my face & had to change my hair style to try to hide it. I added bangs & went shorter. I can't tell you when it started to get better, but it did grow back & now I can't tell that it ever happened, but I do have pics. to prove it. My boys are 2 1/2 years now. Hang in there!

Oh, I don't really remember when the shedding stopped. It can be different for different people based upon how your body rids itself of the pregnancy hormones.

Usually, the hair won't grow back - it's simply stopped shedding during most of your pregnancy and is sloughing off what didn't come out during that time.

Unfortunately, with our second child, I was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks after her birth and lost most of my hair during chemo, so I didn't have a normal postpartum experience.

I would say you'll probably be returning to normal soon. But, your OB/GYN should be able to provide you a better idea of what is normal.

This happened to me and I was so distraught about it that I cut my long hair into a short bob. Having long hair made it seem like much more was falling out then really was. Once it stopped falling out (a couple of months later) it started to grow back and I had a ton of baby hair along my hairline. I had thick bangs cut and it totally hid the new hair growth! I always wanted bangs but was scared to try them. This was a blessing in disguise for me:)

Good luck! Maybe you can get a new hairstyle out of this too!

That happened to me too! It was right around 5-6 months and seemed to last about 2-3 months. I was convince that if it kept up I would be bald but still have a full head of hair.

I had the same thing with all four babies, but it was worse with the last. It was up to a year that handfulls of hair would come out. It finally stopped when I stopped nursing and my hormones went back to normal.

My understanding is that pregnancy hormones slow down your normal rate of hair loss, so you end up with more hair for awhile. This normalizes after your hormones change again, but you shed only the extra hair you held onto for a few months.

My experience was that I started out with thin hair, got thicker hair during pregnancy, and within 3-4 months after giving birth, had the same thin hair I had before becoming pregnant.

I haven't heard any moms claim they ended up with less hair. Until menopause, anyway, when it can become either finer or more wiry, and sometimes thinner, as well.

I hear ya! I had my daughter 4 1/2 mo ago and it's been falling out like crazy! When I had my son, my hair fell out, although it wasn't this much. It took about 6 mo or so to grow back. But when it grew back, it was healthier. If for some reason you are worried about it, you could always check with your doctor. There's always Nioxin too...which I'm thinking of trying myself. ;) They sell it at most salons.

I didn't lose any after my first baby, but after my second, the hair loss was crazy! The doctor checked my thyroid and then assured me it was normal and would subside. It didn't stop until my son was about 18 months, and by then I'd lost about half my hair. Now, he is 3 1/2 and it has not grown back in. I just have thin hair now!

I would request to have your thyroid checked, just to be safe. Every woman should have their thyroid checked a few months postpartum. Its a simple blood test.
God bless!
M.

Wow, I can relate to this one! I got so tired of my husband complaining about the hair all over the place. For myself, I think it probably started to taper off around 4-5 months postpartum. I am fortunate enough to have a ton of hair, so I didn't really notice much missing. I did notice new growth around the sides and top near my forehead.

I remember it seemed like forever before it stopped. Hang in there, it will get better!

This totally happened to me and several other moms I know. It actually can last for about 3-4 months. I have two girls, so after 2 months of shedding after the birth of my first child, I even called my doctor. They were like "um, yeah, that happens" and had really no concern about it at all.

I know people say your hair was thicker during pregnancy and this is just the removal of that, but NOT SO in my case. I had A LOT of thinning. It does grow back, but now 1 year later, I still have hairs that are much shorter than the rest of my hair. It is annoying, but no one else seems to notice - unless I purposefully SHOW them! I kept taking my prenatal vitamins in case that helped, and also got Nioxin shampoo, but neither seemed to make much difference.

Good luck!

I totally know how you feel, I also experienced this and it drove me NUTS!! I believe it lasted for another 2-3 months. Don't worry it will stop, and then you grow new hairs that stand up funny on top of your head...Ha!

I'm going to echo what Peg said in her response: most women retain hair in pregnancy that normally would have fallen out. So after you have your baby your hair plays "catch up" and sheds all that hair that would have fallen out months before. Mine started falling out at about 3 months postpartum with each kid. It's alarming enough that when I teach childbirth classes I mention hair loss in the postpartum section so that it's not such a shock for women when it happens! It'll stop, I promise.

I lost a ton of hair after my pregnancies. The reason is that when you are pregnant you hardly loose any hair. So after you are not pregnant it seems like it all wants to fall out. You will not go bald- this is just your extra hair. I can completely sympathize with you- it seems I found hair in the craziest places for months. Congratulations on your baby.

I would say it is time to talk to your doc about this. It is going on too long.

I totally know how you feel, I also experienced this and it drove me NUTS!! I believe it lasted for another 2-3 months. Don't worry it will stop, and then you grow new hairs that stand up funny on top of your head...Ha!

Oh my gosh I was sure I was going to be bald! Mine started at about 4 months postpartum as well and went on for probably 5-6 months. I couldn't believe it! I never actually looked bald but I was so sick of pulling out clumps of hair after showering. This stage is a drag but it will pass and I promise you will still have some hair left when it does! Hang in there!

Been there, done that. It was so bad a strange woman noticed it and told me to go to Rite Aid and buy theirs "Hair and nails" vitamines and it really worked, plus very often they have it buy one, get one free. Good luck!

5 months post-partum with my second and still experiencing it a bit. If I remember right from my first, it went back to normal around 6ish months.

My hair started to fall out at about 4 or 5 months and now at 9 months I have about a gazillion 1 inch tall new growth hairs all over my head. They stick straight up. I have to use alot of product to smooth them down. It started to finally grow back when my son was about 8 months

I did not go bald you could not even tell I had lost alot of hair. Just when I was starting to really worry, I noticed the new growth around my forhead.

At about 4 weeks postpartum, I started to lose so much hair everyday that I thought I was going to go bald. It seems that the new mom’s rite of passage includes hair loss due to the rapid drop in hormone levels. During pregnancy, hair stays in a growing phase and skips the shedding phase, which is why most women’s hair becomes thicker during pregnancy. Hair loss is usually associated with the rapid drop in hormone levels at childbirth, and it takes roughly 6 months to a year for the hair to return to its pre-pregnancy thickness. Just look at it this way, and it should comfort you as it comforted me to know that this loss is temporary and it’s just loss of extra pregnancy hair. I swear, though, and you can ask my hairdresser, that my hair has never returned to its prior thickness. She used to have to layer my hair so it doesn’t appear as thick. She hasn’t, however, layered my hair since after my daughter was born 5 yrs ago.

Oh my gosh. I remember that! That's one thing I didn't come across in the pregnancy books and boy was I surprised! I had a "halo" of new hair that stuck out and looked so goofy b/c my hair is long and straight. I brought this up to my hair stylist and she said it's totally normal. I'm happy to say that it doesn't last forever and I even overheard someone yesterday say " I want that lady's hair". I guess that means it grows back :) Yours will too.
All the best to you.

My hair stylist said she has seen this for years with everyone and the best thing was to go back on the prenatals to replenish lost vitamins and minerals. My midwife said yes - and wow... the hair started growing back just as thick.

Good Luck