Worried about post partum

**Shibe** · February 26th, 2015, 03:22 PM

Hey everyone! I'm currently a day from being 18 weeks pregnant and I cannot wait to have my little guy in my arms, but I'm silently freaking over here. I'm not paranoid about labor and delivery- I'm paranoid about postpartum shedding!

I have insanely baby fine hair, and it's already naturally layered on it's own. If my hair gets too oily, it looks like I have bald spots- thats how fine my hair is.

I know postpartum shedding is normal, but I am so scared that due to the natural thinness of my hair I will start balding.

Is there anything I can do to minimize shedding, or stop the loss altogether? I know scalp massage, loose hairstyles, and continuing my prenatal will help- but is there more I can do? I have heard some women mention taking DE.

**bonbon58** · February 26th, 2015, 03:32 PM

i will be lurking in this thread for future reference purposes

what is DE btw??

~~~

my current game plan is:
1. trim all my hair so that it is one-length at start of pregnancy

2. massive hair growth and thickening from pregnancy hormones

hair becomes super long and super thick!!
3. postpartum shed leaves hair with natural "layers" and back to normal thickness

...if only everything in life went according to plan...

**jenrjen** · February 26th, 2015, 03:38 PM

I finished my postpartum shed about 4 months ago. One thing to keep in mind is that you will *probably* STOP shedding during your pregnancy. For about five months of my pregnancy, I think I shed a TOTAL of 50 hairs. My normal shed is like 75/day. My hair felt so much thicker during my pregnancy, and I loved it.

During the shed, I shed small animal size balls of hair. But really, at the end, my hair thickness was pretty much that same as when I started. It may feel like a lot more since it all comes out at once, but it should be just what you would have lost during those months you didn't shed much.

It may feel a lot thinner since it all comes out at once, but remember that in a few short months, you will have all those baby hairs growing right along with baby! Any super thin areas should fill in pretty quickly.

I guess the only thing I'd be concerned about after birth is taking stuff if you plan on breastfeeding. I run all my supplements/vitamins by my doc while I am breastfeeding. And I'm sure you would also during pregnancy!

Enjoy this special time. If nothing else, the sight of your baby will make you feel better about any temporary hair sacrifices you make. If you do find something to lessen it though, let me know! I plan on getting pregnant again and while the postpartum shed isn't even a consideration in my wanting another, I WOULD love to lessen it next time!

And of course...
Congratulations!!!

**lapushka** · February 26th, 2015, 03:42 PM

My mom's hair thinned considerably after having me, and has been thin since (i/ii, more a i really). I don't want to alarm you, but these things happen. I would concentrate on the pregnancy and having baby more than your hair. Time will pass more easily without those worries bothering you. Enjoy pregnancy and having baby, and worry about the hair when it's that time.

**neko_kawaii** · February 26th, 2015, 03:49 PM

Not everyone has a postpartum shed. You may get lucky. You really can't know until that period has passed.

**Duchess Fuzzy Buns** · February 26th, 2015, 04:15 PM

I second what neko_kawaii said. I didn't shed after I had my son. I also didn't get that super fast growing, amazingly thick pregnancy hair either. As far as I could tell, it just stayed about the same... At any rate worrying about it certainly won't help. I would just take care of yourself and your growing baby the best you can with a healthy diet and your vitamins and let your hair follicles do as they will.
I hope you have a happy and healthy pregnancy.

**Panth** · February 27th, 2015, 01:10 AM

1) Generally you don't go below your pre-pregnancy thickness, you just shed out all the additional thickness you gained during pregnancy (because pregnancy hormones stop hair from shedding).

2) Not everyone gets a post-partum shed and those that do don't necessarily get an extreme one.

3) If it's going to happen, there's very little you can do to change/stop it and stress will only make things worse (because stress - both physical and mental - can also cause shedding).

I'd just focus on your pregnancy, eat healthily, follow your doctor's advice and absolutely do not go on any non-doctor-advised extreme supplementing regime or diet (especially whilst pregnant/breastfeeding). I suspect pretty soon you'll be so busy that hair will be the least of your worries.

**leilani** · February 27th, 2015, 01:38 AM

Hi there! I'm also having a baby (#4!) this summer! I have never heard of postpartum hair thinning being permanent, but it may seem that way, decades later, in memory, if hair began a slow decline in thickness around the same time due to aging. (compared with the thickness of the bloom of youth) I'm not saying that lapushka's mom didn't have sudden postpartum hair loss that never filled in, just that I've never heard of that being a phenomenon that is a concern for anyone, before, so it must be rare. Also postpartum depression could certainly be a cause of a more lasting hair loss, and depression isn't always cured. Now lapushka's going to come on and say her mom had her when she was 18 or some other very young age, and was the embodiment of mental and physical health in every other regard, pointing the finger only at the cessation of pregnancy hormones as the cause of thinning hair. But if so, I would say that scenario is exceedingly rare.

For the vast majority of women, they will lose all the hair they kept during pregnancy around 3-4mo postpartum (&maybe another smaller shed again when your fertility comes back, half a year after that if you breastfeed), and it will mostly be around your temples and after a month of feeling awkward about it (I cut bangs last time to camouflage it), you'll notice it's growing in very fast and after a few months no one will be able to tell but you when you measure the length of your temple tufts. It'll go into a hairstyle in a few more months and then you'll forget all about it as it chases to catch up.

I found that I liked a layered/shaped 'do that I could feel stylish about wearing down after pregnancy, as I didn't want all my hair pulled off my face to reveal the thinned out temples. I just couldn't bear having most of my hair at hip and the short bits around my hairline such a contrast. But many don't cut anything and just power through. If you have a face for bangs, especially side swept curtain bangs, that can be a great cover up while you continue updos, if updos are your thing.

**Shibe** · February 27th, 2015, 05:17 AM

My hair is extremely slow growing, it would take forever for my hair to grow back to what it used to be. I am noticing an increased growth rate, but I recently stopped sleeping with my hair down so it was mainly breaking off, /sigh. As for DE, it is pregnancy and breastfeeding safe.

I also do personally know women who had shedding so bad their hair never recovered.

Also, where did Lapushka say her mom had her incredibly young? I don't see that in her post.

**leilani** · February 27th, 2015, 06:20 AM

Oh no, I didn't say that, I said maybe in hindsight it seemed like hair was never as thick but maybe aging was the actual reason that a couple years later, when all her postpartum shed was grown out, it seemed like her hair was never again as thick as before having lapushka (hair is thickest during the bloom of youth after all). It was just one possible idea, and then I said, watch lapushka come and say her mom was very young, etc and blow all my theories out of the water. I just have never heard of postpartum shed not growing back in. It's all due 100% to the cessation of pregnancy hormones after all, and I can't think of a medical reason why going back to your normal hormonal pre-pregnancy balance (after breastfeeding is done anyways), you wouldn't go back to the same hair thickness as before. I was guessing that aging, depression/stress, or some other physiological reason could be at work.
But I'm not a Dr. I'm just very defensive of any viewpoint that treats normal childbearing as any kind of "condition", as it's what our female bodies are designed to do, and theres lots of studies saying that pregnancy and breastfeeding sets of physiological responses in our bodies that helps prevent against certain cancers and degenerative neurological conditions (I just listened to a science Friday interview on npr about women and Alzheimers which cited new study results along those lines) that convinces me that generally speaking, it's healthier than not to have kids. But again, not a Dr, just a mama whose about to go through a vacuum cleaner head destroying postpartum shed for the fourth time and I've talked about this with tons of moms over the last twelve years since I became a mama. I'm definitely not a hair follicle expert.

It sounds like you are pretty stressed about it, which could create way more problems with hair growth than losing progesterone levels after birth. Good news is, once you meet your baby and all the lovely oxytocin is released when baby gets to breast, you'll feel so warm and full of love (& drowsy) that you'll likely not obsess as much about your hair, and find ways to get through a less attractive look for a few months if you do shed, while gazing at your little bundle of rapidly growing joy that makes it all worth while.