When to worry about post-baby hair loss

[suiledonn]

Hi dd2 is nearly 5 months old now and my hair has started to fall out. I know this is normal but it seems to be going on longer than last time and a lot is coming out. I still seem to have plenty of hair but not sure it will hold up if it keeps coming out in such large amounts. Can it be a sign of some deficiency or other?

suiledonn - my dd is nearly 6 months now and my hair has just stopped falling out (I hope!). It started when she was 4 months. It's scary isn't it? I was getting handfuls of the stuff every time I washed my hair and started getting really worried about it. I haven't been to the doctors but have been reassured about it by friends, my mum and my hairdresser who all say it's normal.

I'm starting to realise that all those people who said I looked great in late pg were right and not just being kind! I did look good then and look shite now!

Mine has only just stopped and dd is 2 and a half. I didn't stop feeding her til a couple of mths ago tho. It is horrible - i was convinced there would be nothing left. And it has lasted longer the more lo's i have.

mine didnt start til about 4 months and stopped when she was about 9/10 months it varies from person to person. I too was losing alot and was totally convinced i would have bald patches but im still here with a full head of hair so try not to worry too much. ( i didnt have this with my first at all!!)

Does anyone know if hairloss is connected to bfing then?

Mine came out in lumps and actually started receding! Saw my GP who did a blood test and found I was borderline anaemic. She put this down to BFing, but I'm not sure.

Took some iron tablets, but not sure they made any difference. Anyway, 4-5 months on, still BFing and hair has long since stopped falling out. Its now growing back in an "attractive" short fringe, mullet combo!

I'd check with GP just to be sure. I thought they'd dismiss it as normal post-baby hairloss, but they did take me seriously. Having said that I do think mine was just an extreme case of post-baby hairloss.

Hope it gets better for you soon.

I saw the GP about mine because I was worried, but she said the important thing is that if you look at the scalp (get DP or a friend to look is easiest) you should be able to see the new short hairs growing in. So long as they're doing that, its probably just post-baby hormone changes and not anything you need to worry about.

If the places you've lost hair are really bald though, with no new growth coming in, then you should get it checked out.

HTH!

my hair loss got pretty scary from about 4 months and continued until my periods started again at about 6-7 mths (even though I was still fully bf at that point). So definitely hormonal, if not just to do with bf. Now, 10 mths in, I can tell my hair is growing back as it feels thicker at the roots and I have a tufty bit at the front which would be annoying if I wasn't so relieved it's come back . So try not to panic and just buy the best quality conditioner you can so you don't pull out even more when brushing/combing, which I was doing with my v tangly hair! My best one was a bright pink tub of kerastase stuff, expensive but worth it and you only need a little.