Posts Tagged ‘breastfeeding hair loss’
Hair Loss while breastfeeding
Summary: Hair loss has always been a very big problem for men and women. However, the same happens to a woman while breast-feeding due to the change in hormonal cycle. In most of the cases, the woman regains the normal hair growth after 6 to 12 months of childbirth.
If you recently had a baby and are a new mother, you might come across your hair falling at a pace which you might find non-regular and rapid. However, this happens to all the mothers due to a change in the level of the hormone estrogen. This is very normal and women need not to panic due to losing hair rapidly. This would not lead to baldness and soon within 6 to 12 months after the child is born, the hair would enter a regular pattern of growth and fall.
To understand why this happens, you need to know about the normal hair growth pattern. In general, not 100% of the hairs on our scalp grow. About 85% of the hairs are in growing stage and the rest 10 to 15% are in the resting period. Once the resting period ends, these hair fall and new follicles replace them to promote new growth of healthy hairs. Thus, on an average, it is quite normal for an average woman to lose 100 strands of hair daily. However, this pattern changes during pregnancy.
Pregnancy is marked by increased level of estrogen hormone. This increase upsets the normal growth pattern of hair present on the scalp. The growing period stretches and comparatively fewer strands of hair enter the resting period. Thus, the hair fall is reduced drastically on an average. As a result the hair becomes thick during the pregnancy period. Once the child is born, the estrogen level tumbles down drastically. This results in a reverse pattern that the hair follicles adopted during pregnancy.
While you feed your newborn baby, more hair follicles enter the resting period. Thus, as a result, more strands of hair are lost and your hair becomes thin. However, this is quite natural and by the time, the child grows and becomes a year old, your hair growth pattern returns to the normal routine and resumes growth.
There is nothing much a woman can do to fight back this hair loss because it is an attribute of the hormonal fluctuation in the body. While some women opt for hair thickening products that lend a fluffy look to their hairs, the other stick to taking a new short haircut. Either one you choose, both of them gives you a mental satisfaction. However, the regular pattern of hair growth and fall continues with the same pace.
