Does nursing slow growth?

[Indigostreams]

Hi. I was wondering if any of you who have breastfed noticed that it slowed down your hair growth? At around 4 months postpartum, I noticed baby hairs growing in around my temples and on the top of my head, which I never realized I had even lost! So that's encouraging. And I know MANY people have also experienced that hair loss/re-growth. But has anyone experienced a slower growth rate for the duration that they were breastfeeding?:hmm:

[Amber_Maiden]

I've only been breastfeeding 2 weeks, so I'll have to get back to you in a month or two!

[Kristen121]

Mine isn't growing as fast as it was when I was pregnant, but not sure if it's slower than it was when I'm not nursing or if it's just back to my pre-pregnancy growth rate. My baby is 6 months old.

[Indigostreams]

I've only been breastfeeding 2 weeks, so I'll have to get back to you in a month or two!
Congrats on the new baby! Boy or girl? Please let me know if you notice a change in growth.

[ladyfey]

I didn't notice any change in my hair. I let my twins self-wean, which they did at a bit over 2 years 8 months. I did notice a huge change in my periods after weaning though, a change for the better!

[RobieFlakes]

Ive been nursing for two years, exclusively to 6 months and tapering very gradually to about 14 oz a day now.

At the end of my pregnancy my slightly curly hair reached just below shoulder length. Now, my hair is a couple of inches below waist. It might be slightly less (10 inches vs 12) but the difference seemed huge after the pregnancy growth.

I want to mention I take biotin and a slew of other supplements, and my baby's hair grows really fast.

[Indigostreams]

Ive been nursing for two years, exclusively to 6 months and tapering very gradually to about 14 oz a day now.

At the end of my pregnancy my slightly curly hair reached just below shoulder length. Now, my hair is a couple of inches below waist. It might be slightly less (10 inches vs 12) but the difference seemed huge after the pregnancy growth.

I want to mention I take biotin and a slew of other supplements, and my baby's hair grows really fast.

So you think your hair actually grew faster while breastfeeding? I also take hair vitamins and try to eat enough protein and all. I never measured my hair before, but it seems not to be progressing much. :neutral:

[seven77]

I never noticed a difference. If you are noticing a difference though, maybe check that you're meeting all your nutritional needs. Drink plenty of water too :)

[RobieFlakes]

My average growth is about 6 inches a year so I think maybe over the two years it grew a bit slower (10 in total)

So in short no it grew less but it wasn't much less.

[Natalia]

cant speak from experiance but my sister noticed her hair had thinned out considerably from pregnancy by about 4-5 months into nursing took about 6 months after she started weaning to fill in.

[Sunshineliz]

I've breastfed four kids now, and I don't know if it affected how fast the hair grew, but I think it delays the postpartum shed. I believe my hair acted just as if I were still pregnant, you know when your hair is thicker because you aren't shedding like before. When the baby's consumption decreased (after eating more solid food...in my case, between 9 mos to a year) then the postpartum shed started. I breastfed a lot longer than that, but that was when the shed happened.

I read up on it a while back (sorry, got no links) and what I found agreed with what I'd seen--the postpartum shed is delayed. I think it said it happens no later than 3 months if you aren't nursing, and generally happens when breastmilk production lowers when you are.

[Jade_Pixie]

I've been breastfeeding for 6 years straight (four children) and I've not yet had a problem with hair growth :)

[utdesertrunner]

This is my 5th baby (4th to nurse) and I have not seen my growth slow down at all. It was just as fast, if not faster than when I was pregnant. But that might be attributed to eating more protein and exercising more regularly.

[firegypsy]

I've breastfed four kids now, and I don't know if it affected how fast the hair grew, but I think it delays the postpartum shed. I believe my hair acted just as if I were still pregnant, you know when your hair is thicker because you aren't shedding like before. When the baby's consumption decreased (after eating more solid food...in my case, between 9 mos to a year) then the postpartum shed started. I breastfed a lot longer than that, but that was when the shed happened.

I read up on it a while back (sorry, got no links) and what I found agreed with what I'd seen--the postpartum shed is delayed. I think it said it happens no later than 3 months if you aren't nursing, and generally happens when breastmilk production lowers when you are.

pretty much this, though I only had 3! and man....when I shed, I SHED. freaked me out good!

[Indigostreams]

Well maybe it's all in my head because like I said, I never measured my hair in the past. Guess I thought since a lot of nutrients from your body go into making milk, it might slow down hair growth a bit.

[firegypsy]

I think that *could* be true if you weren't terribly well nourished. BUT if you eat a varied diet and take a prenatal there's no good reason for growth to slow. :)

[heidi w.]

Hi. I was wondering if any of you who have breastfed noticed that it slowed down your hair growth? At around 4 months postpartum, I noticed baby hairs growing in around my temples and on the top of my head, which I never realized I had even lost! So that's encouraging. And I know MANY people have also experienced that hair loss/re-growth. But has anyone experienced a slower growth rate for the duration that they were breastfeeding?:hmm:

Baby care books I thought typically mention what happens with a expectant mother's hair during gestation. The hair usually actually thickens because the shed rate decreases during gestation/breastfeeding. Whichever one is the last one you do, when that ceases, about two months into that, then the hair will take up shedding a whole lot, essentially returning to it's normal thickness prior to gestation/breastfeeding. That may last perhaps around 3 months, all that shedding. But if the shedding persists, there may be, and it's not overly uncommon that this can occur, apparently, but then if shedding persists it's time to see a doctor and rule out any number of possibilities such as a thyroid condition or some kind of hormonal upset....

Let me go and get you a link.....

This link seemed to me to cover the topic of hair and breastfeeding fairly thoroughly...

http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/hairloss/

heidi w.

[1nuitblanche]

I've been nursing DS for 5 months now. I think that my hair is growing about the same rate as before (I don't typically measure it, I just go by wear it is in my body (BSL, WL, HL, etc.).

[ladonna]

I've breastfed four kids now, and I don't know if it affected how fast the hair grew, but I think it delays the postpartum shed. I believe my hair acted just as if I were still pregnant, you know when your hair is thicker because you aren't shedding like before. When the baby's consumption decreased (after eating more solid food...in my case, between 9 mos to a year) then the postpartum shed started. I breastfed a lot longer than that, but that was when the shed happened.

I read up on it a while back (sorry, got no links) and what I found agreed with what I'd seen--the postpartum shed is delayed. I think it said it happens no later than 3 months if you aren't nursing, and generally happens when breastmilk production lowers when you are.

ITA with this. My hair always went downhill when pregnant and stayed bad until 6-8 months postpartum, which is also when my menstrual cycles started again. My hair grew as normal but was alot thinner and poorer quality than normal.

[firegypsy]

ITA with this. My hair always went downhill when pregnant and stayed bad until 6-8 months postpartum, which is also when my menstrual cycles started again. My hair grew as normal but was alot thinner and poorer quality than normal.

I will never get my pre-kids hair back. My youngest is now 6. If it was gonna happen it likely would have. It's still nice hair, it's just nowhere near as thick as it was pre-kids. I'm sure my thyroid is low-ER functioning, but that's not the whole story. Even on armour thyroid my hair isn't gaining thickness. Though maybe long term it will. I shed a lot less on armour even though my blood tests say I'm fine.

I have an awesome doc. I asked to be medicated because I have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism, but my bloodwork is perfect. Always has been, against all odds. I feel much better on meds. My blood work, however, hasn't changed. Even on fairly high doses it doesn't budge. I'm a weirdo!

[Snippety]

I've breastfed four kids now, and I don't know if it affected how fast the hair grew, but I think it delays the postpartum shed. I believe my hair acted just as if I were still pregnant, you know when your hair is thicker because you aren't shedding like before. When the baby's consumption decreased (after eating more solid food...in my case, between 9 mos to a year) then the postpartum shed started. I breastfed a lot longer than that, but that was when the shed happened.

Yes I think the above was true for me too. My boy started on solids at seven months and around ten or eleven months I noticed changes ; hairs shedding all over, not wanting to eat the vast quantites of food I'd been gobbling up, and some mood swings, all of which I put down to hormonal changes because he'd reduced his milk consumption. That said I'm still feeding him to sleep at five and haven't noticed any change to my hair since :)

[Emmental]

I don't think my growth has slowed down during nursing, but I don't measure it, either.


Baby care books I thought typically mention what happens with a expectant mother's hair during gestation. The hair usually actually thickens because the shed rate decreases during gestation/breastfeeding. Whichever one is the last one you do, when that ceases, about two months into that, then the hair will take up shedding a whole lot, essentially returning to it's normal thickness prior to gestation/breastfeeding. That may last perhaps around 3 months, all that shedding.

YMMV. I have found my hair reacted very differently in both of my pregnancies and so far, in both of my breastfeeding experiences.

[vindo]

I've breastfed four kids now, and I don't know if it affected how fast the hair grew, but I think it delays the postpartum shed. I believe my hair acted just as if I were still pregnant, you know when your hair is thicker because you aren't shedding like before. When the baby's consumption decreased (after eating more solid food...in my case, between 9 mos to a year) then the postpartum shed started. I breastfed a lot longer than that, but that was when the shed happened.

I read up on it a while back (sorry, got no links) and what I found agreed with what I'd seen--the postpartum shed is delayed. I think it said it happens no later than 3 months if you aren't nursing, and generally happens when breastmilk production lowers when you are.

I had a strong postpartum shed + still raised prolactin levels starting at almost 4 months postpartum while exclusively breastfeeding.


ITA with this. My hair always went downhill when pregnant and stayed bad until 6-8 months postpartum, which is also when my menstrual cycles started again. My hair grew as normal but was alot thinner and poorer quality than normal.

Mine was bad the first 3 months of pregnancy and also did not grow during that time.

---------

I am 9 months postpartum, still exclusively breastfeeding, no solids. I measure and trim my hair monthly atm and it grows at a normal rate it seems.
Like I mentioned, I had a strong shed, despite being ebf and some hormonal issues. Luckily it did not last long, because I shed a whole toupet in a short amount of time :rolleyes:

[Indigostreams]

OK,all of that is good to know. Thank you everyone. So it seems that growth is generally not slowed down, but shedding generally does occur. I already went through a shedding stage at a few months postpartum, and hopefully it won't happen again when I quit BFing! My hair is already so thin and fine, it can't handle it. So I guess I can't blame my slow growth on nursing anymore. Thanks for all of your input! ;)

[firegypsy]

OK,all of that is good to know. Thank you everyone. So it seems that growth is generally not slowed down, but shedding generally does occur. I already went through a shedding stage at a few months postpartum, and hopefully it won't happen again when I quit BFing! My hair is already so thin and fine, it can't handle it. So I guess I can't blame my slow growth on nursing anymore. Thanks for all of your input! ;)


speaking for myself I only shed the once. I nursed my kids for a few years and when they did finally stop there was not an additional shedding. :) I hope the same goes for you!

[Indigostreams]

speaking for myself I only shed the once. I nursed my kids for a few years and when they did finally stop there was not an additional shedding. :) I hope the same goes for you!

Thank you!

[Sunshineliz]

speaking for myself I only shed the once. I nursed my kids for a few years and when they did finally stop there was not an additional shedding. :) I hope the same goes for you!

Agreed. One shed for me too.

(And I generally liked pregnancy hair--much thicker!)