Hair loss - early pregnancy

[alwaystired01]

Hi all,

I just found out I'm pregnant with baby no.1 last week, I think I'm about five weeks, and I've noticed huge handfuls of hair falling out when I shower and generally throughout the day. Has anyone else experienced this? I don't have my first midwife appointment for another three weeks yet.

Thanks

I'm having this issue too but I'm much further along than you. I got to the end of my second trimester fine but as soon as I hit 28 weeks, my hair is shedding like no tomorrow. I'm taking extra iron and vitamin D buy it has made no difference, apparently all my blood tests are fine so I'm not lacking anything. I am at a loss as to why this is happening and worried I'll end up bald!

I got it at the start, didn't last too long. 37 weeks now and I've more than made up for it since - now look like Jon Bon Jovi circa 1986 and really hoping it all calms down after the baby comes!

@Pinktruffle have the doctors or midwives said anything about why this is happening? So sorry to hear you are experiencing this too, it's quite upsetting.

@Insertdeadcatsnamehere glad it has cleared up for you, this gives me hope!

@alwaystired01 not really, they've just put it down to hormones. I had a chat with my hairdresser and he said it is more common than people realise in pregnancy and told me to start using black castor oil on my hair after baby arrives (it's one of the few things that has a proven effect on hair growth). I'm also going to start using Nioxin shampoo once baby arrives to try and stop any more hair loss. My hair is one of the few things I like about my physical appearance, I dont want to lose it all!

@Pinktruffle just found your thread and I could have written your note myself! My hair started shedding dramatically at 28 weeks and just keeps coming out in droves - especially when I wash it. So worried it’s all going to go! I’m now 34 weeks. How did you get on post birth? Did the shedding stop and did it grow back? Would love anyone’s advice who has been through something similar.

@IsSpencer So, I ended up needing and emergency C-Section and lost lots of blood so was put on very strong iron tablets. At my follow up appointments with the Community Midwife, she looked over my notes and admitted that they had made a mistake and I was in fact anemic from 28 weeks and should have been on medical grade iron tablets (I was just taking supermarket ones). Once on the iron tablets/after giving birth my hair shedding stopped. It started again around 4 months post partum but wasn't as bad. I started to take high strength iron tablets again at that time just to make sure it wasmt anything else. I'm 7 months PP now and my hair loss is now normal. I have less hair than I had pre-pregnancy but it's not disastrous, and is continuing to grow back.

@Pinktruffle thank you for your response! I know my iron levels are slightly low so I might see if I can get it checked again just in case. So glad your hair PP has returned to normal for you - hopefully mine will do the same!