Hair loss DURING pregnancy

[NinaC1975]

When I was 6 weeks pregnant I noticed 2 50p size bald patches at the front of my hair where my hair had completely fallen out. My scalp is smooth.

The dr says that it is telogen effluvium and my hair will come back - having looked this up on the internet it seems that it might be as a result of me getting pregnant or coming off the pill about 5 months ago.

I can cover it up (I have long hair) and my husband is being utterly lovely but it is really getting me down and affecting my self confidence. I am constantly panicing about my hair falling out, it getting worse and whether it will come back.

I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Thanks

[ellaeleven]

Hi there,
did the doctor test your blood for your thyroid levels? I had lots of hair loss throughout pregnancy and while my thyroid was ok it is apparently very common for the thyroid gland to go haywire during pregnancy and one of the symptoms is patchy hairloss. If all ok there then coming off the pill could be the reason as could any stress you might be feeling. Eat lots of greens, check you are getting plenty of iron (your doc should check your iron levels too and ferritin needs to be over 70 for hair growth) and keep yourself busy. Hopefully you will be getting regrowth in the next few months .
Good Luck X

[NinaC1975]

Thanks Ellen. I have had those blood tests. I have now been diagnosed as having alopecia caused by pregnancy.

Trying not to panic and hoping that it will return once the baby is born.

[NinaC1975]

Hiya.

I started this threat. Towards the end of my pregnancy my hair started to regrow. It continued to regrow very well. When my daughter was about 11 months old she had an accident (don't worry so is absolutely fine) and I think that possibly as a result of the shock the hair loss started again. I was able to have steroid injections since I'm not pregnant but new patches have developed which does make me miserable - but they are nowhere near as bad as before and I am able to cover them up.

We are planning another baby next year and I was wondering if anyone had experiences pregnancy related alopecia - and did it reoccur with subsequent pregnancy - so I can try to prepare myself.

Thanks

Nina

[tumbleweedblowing]

Nina, do try not to worry, but mine got substantially worse with each pregnancy, and was a factor in deciding to stop at 3. (not vanity, by the way, just realising my body really wasn't coping with pregnancy as well as it needed to).

However, by about the time DD3 was 18months, it had all started to grow back. It didn't all come back at once, but fortunately the very visible bits came back first (fringe area!). The last bits, just above my ears were last, and the only person who knew they were still there was my hairdresser.

Good luck. I hope you find it different.

[NinaC1975]

So the time has come to take the plunge and think about Baby Number 2. I am worried about my hair falling out again as it has now all completely regrown and I am used to having it again.

Tumbleweedblowing - thanks for your response - does your hair fully regrow after each pregnancy? I think I may be able to cope with it better this time knowing that it came back fully last time.

Does anyone else have any experience of developing alopecia during a first pregancy and whether it occurred during every subsequent pregancy. Was the gender of the baby relevant?

My first preganncy was planned but psychologically I wasn't prepared and I was shocked that I became pregnant so easily. I am much more prepared this time - this may be a factor?

Also does anyone have any tips on things I could do to prevent it? I recognise this is clutching at straws!

Thanks

[patsy322]

Hi - my daughter is 22 weeks pregnant and is experiencing significant hair loss on the back of her head. She is trying not to panic (we have total alopecia in the family, though not in my daughter's generation thankfully) but she is becoming quite distressed. Can anyone suggest any courses of action that might help? Many thanks.