Am I going bald?

So you've had a baby about three months ago.  Your body has recovered pretty much to the point it was before you got pregnant (although your abdomen may appear otherwise).  Your muscles may still be a bit weak in the abdominal wall, and you may have some extra flab, but for the most part your body functions have resumed "normal" activity.  Of course, if you are breastfeeding, there is that major change, too.  One thing you may be experiencing now (like I am) is hair loss.  A lot of hair loss.

This seemingly unnatural and excessive evacuation of hair from your head is due to the growth cycles being disrupted during pregnancy and not (let me repeat, NOT) from breastfeeding.  Your hair passes through a three-phase life cycle: anagen (growth phase) - which can last an average of three years, catagen (transition phase), and telogen (resting phase) - which lasts from 1 to 6 months with an average of 3 months.  Normally, about 85 to 95 percent of the hair on your head is growing and the other 5 to 15 percent is in a resting stage. After the resting period, this hair falls out — usually while you're brushing, washing, or otherwise agitating it — and is replaced by new growth.  The new (anagen) hairs actually push the old (telogen) hairs out of the follicle.  During a normal, non-pregnant, non-postpartum time of your life, you'd lose about 100 hairs per day.

During pregnancy, the boost of estrogen extends the normal growth phase of the cycle so that more and more of your hair is growing rather than resting.  Hence the thick, sexy hair you had while pregnant.  Once you give birth, estrogen levels plummet.  Of course, about 3 months postpartum (on average), the telogen (resting) phase has completed and progressed back to anogen (growth)... and the hair falls out of your head seemingly all at once.  Hair may come out in clumps, or you look at your brush and it's furry, or your shower drain has to be snaked almost daily... personally, I feel like I could make at least one wig from all the hair on my bathroom floor right now.

There's more.  Hair texture, color, and level of oiliness or dryness could change postpartum as well.  If you had wavy hair before, it might be stick-straight now.  It could be super-oily when it used to be on the dry side.  It could be coarse when it was once baby-fine.  You really get all kinds of surprises along with the gift of motherhood.

The good news is, sometime between 6 months and 1 year postpartum everything goes back to normal.  Your hair resumes its normal growth cycle, texture, etc.  However, if you still notice a lot of these changes beyond your baby's first birthday, you could be iron deficient (also a common postpartum ailment).  Your health care provider can prescribe a supplement if necessary.  Another possibility is hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone) - another fairly common postpartum condition that can easily be remedied by your health care provider.  If you are concerned, the doctor's office is your first resource for help.

WHAT TO DO:

1. Experiment with your hair.  Try a shorter haircut or a textured one, cut some bangs (to minimize the appearance of the whispy baby-hair along your forehead), or use a wash-and-go method rather than excessively styling.
2. Try some different hair care products that bulk up the hair.
3. Change your comb/brush to one that is less likely to tug and stress the hair (wider-tooth combs are better during this time).
4. If you have long hair, check your baby OFTEN for one of your hairs wrapped tightly around the baby's toes, fingers, or (yes, even) penis.  This is called a "hair tourniquet" and can be very painful to your little one.  If he or she is crying and you've already done the typical feeding, diapering, and fatigue checks, this should be the very next thing you look for.

I'm holding out for sometime between three and nine months from now.  Until then, I just know I have to clean the bathroom a bit more often than I enjoy.