Slowed growth - postpartum hair

[MonicaJean]

Hey there :o Who here knows about postpartum hair issues?

I am 3 months postpartum with my 4th child, and just today it came to me that my hair has slowed dramatically. I know that we usually shed a large amount of hair after baby since our hair postponed the shedding phase during the pregnancy (or at least that was my understanding. lol), but I was wondering if anyone thinks I could blame it on this? I have never been a big shedder and luckily that doesn't seem to change for me after having baby either... I don't recall whether or not my growth slowed though. I don't think I payed attention to that, to be honest. I am growing out bleach, so I can easily see how much growth I'm getting, but I'm seeing just about half an inch (possibly a tad more) for the last two months! :( Slightly disappointing since my hair normally grows fairly fast. Not crazy fast, but more than the average. I'm dying to have my long hair back! lol
OR I wonder if it's possible that I need to start taking a multivitamin or something... I've been having a problem with a lot of mouth sores lately, so could be that I have some sort of deficiency?
Hmm... OR OR OR, now I don't know if this is too personal (TMI?) for here or not, I apologize if it is, but I had a copper IUD put in 2 months ago also, which I've read can cause copper toxicity which I've read can cause my symptoms as well...
I'm all over the place here. I know. Navigate if you can. :p

Oh and one more thing. I think I may have to change my hair texture status to medium instead of f/m! Is it possible for hair coarseness to change as you age? It seems as I get older my hair gets less and less fine. I quite miss my silky fine hair, but I'm not gonna lie that the extra lift I get from added diameter is nothing to complain about. I can't find any fine hairs on my head anymore, even around my hairline which was always wispy fine! So strange to me. Anyway, thanks for reading my mess... :D

[hmmruka]

Yes the hormonal fluctuations you experience postpartum can deffinetly cause your hair to stall for a bit, although some women just feel like its not growing because it has slowed too its normal rate instead of the pregnancy rate. I don't know much about copper toxicity, but maybe your hormones are just affected by your body's response to the new IUD as well. Also yes it is very common for your hair too change texture as you age, as well as it can change from hormonal fluctions like pregnancy, but if you feel it is a gradual change and continues to grow this way its most likely due to getting older.
Although I would say I do shed a lot of hairs, I have extremely thick hair to start with and I didn't really notice much of a postpartum shed either, but I was exteremely sick my entire pregnancy and my hair hardly grew at all, and it took a good 6 months for my hair to really start growing at a normal rate again. I got the Marena IUD at about the same time my hair started growing again and since this IUD does have certain hormones it is said that you may shed less and grow better like one does when preggo. I didn't grow more than 4 or 5 inches in 15 months though due to my pregnancy but my son was born healthy and with a full head of hair so if my lack of growth helped him then I am glad my body knew that my hair growth wasn't important.

[Allychan]

When you are pregnant your body produces high concentrations of estrogen which can make your hair grow thicker, faster and stronger. These levels drop once you have bub which is why you shed and the growth slows. There is data that suggests contraceptives can effect hair growth (or lack of) depending on what you are using. Best to consult DR about that. If you are breastfeeding you would be losing some nutrients etc to that too. I'd look into what multivitamins you need by once again checking with DR or similar. There are multivitamins specifically made for nursing mums which could help if you are lacking in something.

[barely.there]

After pregnancy your hormones will be all over the place (obviously). try a good quality cod liver oil (fermented is best). I find that helps balance things out.

[Aveyronnaise]

Yes this is very possible after i gave birth my body went through changes for what seemed like forever and a day.
Also if you are breastfeeding it can extend hormonal strangeness and your calories could be going to your babe in the form of milk versus your hair.
Good Luck !!!

[Katze]

Well, you're really lucky you aren't shedding! Believe me, I lost over half my hair after my daughter was born. Slow growth right now is MUCH preferred to having handfuls of hair come out every time you touch your head...isn't it? :)

Really, be happy you are NOT shedding!!!

As others have said hormones can and do change throughout your life (not just after pregnancy). So changing hair type is normal. I notice a lot of 'wiry', 'horsehair'-like hairs (usually shed hairs) that I never remember having before. I do still have fine hair, but seemingly more medium and even coarse hairs on my head, and my hair is overall wavier (but has been getting wavier since puberty anyway.