Is it normal for your hair to fall out during pregnancy?

What you need to know:

Since hair grows for two to seven years, rests for three months and is lost to be replaced by new hair, at around three months after delivery, a breastfeeding woman will be seen to lose hair which is usually blamed on breastfeeding.

Why am I loosing hair during pregnancy yet it is supposed to grow? Isn’t a woman supposed to lose hair while breastfeeding? Liz

Dear Liz, Every pregnancy just like it carries different human beings can come with different challenges including how it may affect a woman’s body so that you may have had lots of hair in one or two pregnancies and yet lose it with another.

Humans have around 100,000 hairs on their heads and shed 50-100 hairs everyday which is unnoticeable. However, during pregnancy, with the increase in the female hormone oestrogen, women will hold on to their hair and seem to be having more thick and lustrous hair.

Since hair grows for two to seven years, rests for three months and is lost to be replaced by new hair, at around three months after delivery, a breastfeeding woman will be seen to lose hair which is usually blamed on breastfeeding.

Whereas pregnant women may seem to have more hair, a few because of hormonal changes of pregnancy, stress, hairstyling or medical conditions that accompany or are worsened by pregnancy including iron deficiency or low levels of thyroid hormones, can actually spot hair loss. Hair loss during pregnancy can also come because of any other reason that causes hair loss in any person pregnant or not.

Because medical conditions leading to hair loss may appear or worsen during pregnancy which conditions may affect the health of the mother and baby alike, please talk to your antenatal clinic about your hair loss so that it is investigated and managed.

Meanwhile, continue eating a balanced diet and take your iron supplements as prescribed by your doctor.