A common but frustrating experience for many women is postpartum hair loss. After a woman gives birth, sometimes her hair will begin to gradually thin over a period of months. The medical term for this condition is telogen effluvium.

Telogen effluvium often results from an experience that is either physically or emotionally traumatic, such as childbirth. Normally, a woman loses around 100 hairs from her head every day. After giving birth, there is a change in the way that hairs grow and develop. This change causes a larger number of hair follicles to shed all at one time. Postpartum hair loss generally starts between one and five months after giving birth, and typically stops within another 15 months.

Postpartum hair loss is thought to occur in around 10% of women. Some studies suggest that postpartum hair loss may be more common in women with longer hair; however, it may also be that the hair loss is much more noticeable in women with longer hair.

Hormonal changes during pregnancy are, in part, responsible for this phenomenon. The increased estrogen levels present in a woman’s body during pregnancy make it so that fewer hairs are in the “resting” state. This also means that fewer new hairs will be growing. During pregnancy, you might have fuller, thicker, hair. After birth, estrogen levels drop sharply, and thus those old hairs that were growing are now falling out, and the fewer new hairs that grew during pregnancy have to take their place.

The most important thing to remember about postpartum hair loss is that it will eventually stop. Your hair will grow correctly again, often in time to celebrate your baby’s first birthday. Many women choose to try different hair styles and/or different hair care products. Some products, such as hair thickeners or mousse may be able to give your hair a fuller look during this time. Other women find that this is a good time to try a shorter hairstyle, to avoid the necessity of constantly cleaning clumps of hair from the drain.

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