Being a mother is a blessing as well as a sacrifice every married woman desire in order to be a complete woman. This blissful time filled with enormous joy also has some distressing aftereffects that, generally, spike a newbie mother’s frustration to the zenith. One of such is Hair Loss.

Pregnancy is a period when a woman’s body experiences an array of modifications inside as well as outside the body. While most of these changes are visible like expanding belly, back pains, breast change etc but what happens inside the body is unknown to most females. Among all changes whose root cause is something inside the body is hair fall for which we are concerned right now. The very first thing to know is that hormones are the main culprit of hair loss in the postpartum period ( time period after delivery ).

What is Postpartum Hair Loss?

In simple words, Postpartum hair loss means loss of hairs after pregnancy. It is hair shedding condition generally face by women after 2-3 months of baby’s birth. This condition can last by the first birthday of the child.

Do every woman suffer from postpartum hair loss?

Definitely, No. It is not compulsory that every woman suffers this distressing hair shedding problem. Loss of 60-80 strand per day can't be classified as postpartum hair loss. This much hair shedding is common and part of the growth cycle.

What induces hair loss in the postpartum period and why?

To know why most females experience hair fall post delivery, first of all, one must have to understand science and biology happen inside the female body during 9 months of pregnancy.

From the time when fetus development started, the volume of different hormones and cells start fluctuating at a rate never than before. These changes happen just to support and aid the fetus development in the womb. Sex hormones estrogen and progesterone are the 2 main hormones that play a significant role and have uncountable functions all the time during pregnancy.

Estrogen is one responsible for hair loss after pregnancy. In the real sense, it's not hair loss but a balancing of the situation. Our brain is designed in such a way that most of the times we over-react & get sad on negatives but doesn't react on positive unless its something very great in magnitude.

During pregnancy, if one notice, female hair usually becomes very thick, shiny, radiant and luscious without any reason. Hairs look like as if they are well nourished. But this all is merely an illusion created by high estrogen level.

When a woman conceives, estrogen level in the blood starts escalating at a rate never than before. This enhances the cell abilities found everywhere in the body. Hairs growth and sex Hormones are directly proportional to each other, which means that increased level of estrogen produced in the female body during the days of pregnancy results in increased cell activities in the scalp. Thus healthy, luscious and radiant hairs.

But this situation doesn’t last long for much time. Just after when a child takes birth, increased estrogen plummets at even more faster than it was rising. This sudden change makes more & more hair to reach resting phase & ultimately fall out.

Do you require medical assistance?

There is nothing much to worry about this hair loss. This is a reversible condition that surely gets reversed by the first birthday of a child. If the problem persist even after that then definitely you can visit hair expert.

Ways to Stop Postpartum Hair Loss:

  1. Stress Management

    Giving birth to a child is one of the toughest challenges that every woman faces in her life. With a series of new things facing for the first time in life, a woman often gets distressed, irritate and anxious. Even, many experience baby blues too( postpartum depression).

    Stress, Fear, Anxiety or depression can speed up hair fall by many folds in the postpartum period. More and more hairs start reaching the resting phase, and eventually, fall out.

    Try doing things that can reduce your stress.
    • Talk with your beloved ones at the time when mood swing dominates.
    • There are many things that you may have no idea about and doing it for the first time in life can put you in trouble. Take assistance or ideas from your kith & kins on how to achieve that things in the best possible way.
    • Apart from it, light to medium intensity physical activities in moderation can also help in tackling stress in this condition. One can go for yoga, walking, aerobics or anything that suits the best and put less stress on the body.
    • Try talk therapy with mental health professionals or join local support groups.
    • Visit psychiatrist for help in a severe condition like baby blues.

    It is easy to advise not to have stress but difficult to opt in a situation of being a mother. Forget hair loss, stay happy & calm and spent time with your tender one.

  2. Try New Haircut

    If possible give your hair a life by visiting a hair salon for the new haircut. Long Hairs are always more noticeable than short, so try to shorten the length of hairs possible. This will help you get rid of at least some of those dead hairs, which otherwise are found on your hairbrush or pillow. Having short hairs, nevertheless, also save your tender one from a lesser known medical condition like hair tourniquet.

    Especially if you are the one who has hair flicks/fringes that come on the forehead or at the side of a face, try to change to swept back hairs. Once your condition gets reversed, you are free to restyle it the way you want.

  3. Eat healthy diet

    Its very much possible that, in addition to falling estrogen, lack of diet or essential nutrients could be the reason for your hair loss. If so, then its time to change your diet.

    During this challenging time, healthy eating can bring enormous benefits. Not only one gets benefits in hair shedding but also repairs a mother’s body after pregnancy & help body function like breastfeeding. New mum in this condition normally requires 1600-1800 calories a day if she wants that low diet doesn't induce hair loss.

    In postpartum, deficiency of vitamins & minerals is also very common. This badly affects mother health and even baby care. Therefore, make sure you are taking enough healthy diet.

  4. Healthy Eating Tips in Postpartum time :

    • Keep eye on your eating habits and daily intake.
    • Avoid things that can degrade your health like oily or junk food, wine or alcohol, crash dieting.
    • Avoid caffeine-rich things. If not possible, have a limit on it. High caffeine eatables include ice-cream, coffee, soft drinks, chocolates, protein bars, tea, and even supplement & medicines.
    • Drink plenty of water and fluids.
    • Eat Fruits and vegetables ( wholesome if possible ).
    • Try Antioxidant-rich food or drinks.
    • Avoid high-fat food like red meat and sugary diet.
    • Eat in variety. One can take the internet help to know what’s beneficial to eat.

  5. Take Supplement

    Supplements have gain enormous popularity these days as results given by them are very fast and instant. It directly works on the deficiency needs, therefore, work better & instant than food. If in case, you are like that most women who don't like to eat much & always run from food, this is the best option you can go for along with some healthy diet.

    It is obvious that fluctuation in Estrogen level during a postpartum period will take some time to settle. By then, you can try supplements to treat your hairs which are in the growth phase and expect some new hair to grow.You can get plenty of them from nearby pharmacy or online, but eating supplements without doctor consultation is not advised. It can have side effects too.

    • Biotin Based Supplements
    • Omega 3 Supplements
    • Iron Medicines
    • Prenatal Multi-vitamins
    • Sulfer based Supplements
    • Vitamin-D Medicines

  6. Things that increase Estrogen Level

    For those desiring speedy results and wanting to get rid of unwanted hair loss instantly, then working directly on estrogen can be one option. Although there are countless options available, doctor recommendation is very necessary. This option of working directly on estrogen is suitable in very few cases and have an unfavorable risk-reward ratio. Some of the renowned treatment include hormonal birth control pills, hormonal medical therapies, topical creams & gels, skin patches and vaginal tablets, cream or ring. In the postpartum period, if you are looking for one such technique for hair loss or any other reason, undergo only after the establishment of breast milk

    A natural way to increase estrogen: Many kinds of research in the past had proved that consumption of Certain food like Soya bean, Flax seeds. Berries, etc greatly impact the estrogen level in humans. Therefore, it is advised that one can go for natural ways to boost estrogen to stop hair loss instead of a medical or artificial way.

  7. Choosing Right Products for Hair

    It is quite possible that you will be doing the same thing with hairs as before. But, you have to understand that your hairs in postpartum are not the ones that were earlier. Therefore choosing the right product for your hair is very essential. Below are some tips on what’s good and bad for you

    • ShampoosChoosing the right shampoo can bring some relief to your hair loss while postpartum. It is undeniable that some hairs will shed in this period. Shampoos can't stop your hair to fall but can hide that loss. Volumizing shampoo is a great way to make hair look full. Variety of shampoos are available in markets. What you need to do is to select the suitable volumizing shampoo along with shampoo that suits your hairs needs and wash your hair with both shampoos sequentially. It is advised not to wash hair more than twice in a week.
    • ConditionersHair Conditioning in the postpartum period must be depended on the condition of your hair. If dryness is extreme then there is no problem in using it. Otherwise, conditioners can end the hair fullness and make your hair loss more visible. Using Volumizing Shampoo and intense conditioner at the same time means no advantage at all. If still, you are thinking to use it then it is advisable to use special conditioners designed for finer hair and reverse the order of conditioner and shampoo. Use conditioner first and then shampoo.

      You can try natural conditioners instead which are safer in this condition. Egg, Yogurt, Oil, and Onion are widely popular natural conditioner.

    • Wide-Tooth CombWide-tooth comb can be extremely beneficial in this period. The reason is obvious that it will pull less hair.

  8. Avoid Heating and Chemicals

    These are the things that can increase your hair loss by multifold during postpartum. Applying heat on hairs by hair dryers or straighteners and procedures that involve high chemical products like hair rebonding, straightening, hair colors with high chemical composition compel hairs to fall which are in resting phase and can also damage growing hairs.

  9. Healthy Sleep Pattern

    Unhealthy Sleeping Pattern in postpartum can also induce hair loss. Sleep deprivation is something that can plague health disorders in even normal healthy person. And, just think how severe it can impact woman in the postpartum period.

    A newborn baby has a very unpredictable sleeping pattern in starting 6-8 months. The most couple especially mother usually have to face this tiresome situation. Sometimes baby stays awake at night & sleep during the day or other times completely opposite.

    Therefore, this totally disrupts mother sleep pattern too, which in turn due to various factors result in hair loss. Only option a mother in this kind of problem is to take partner help or take a nap in the afternoon too.

    It is seen that many women try tranquilizer medicines during this period without any medical consultation, that is not at all advisable. Insomnia and sleep deprivation both are two different concepts. Therefore, trying a natural way to get sleep would be a better idea than taking any pill.

    10. Caution while Hair Fall in Postpartum ( Tourniquet )

    Although Tourniquet is a very uncommon condition, still it is something that needs to be in your consciousness if you are experiencing postpartum hair loss. It is a condition that arises when broken hair falls out and wraps around the finger, toe or genital organ of the baby so tightly that it stops the blood circulation and cause an infection.