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Hair Fall After Giving Birth: What the Studies Show

Handfuls of hair in the shower a few months after your baby arrives is one of the most common worries for new mothers in Malaysia. Four studies below show how common it is, when it starts and stops, what makes it worse, and when the shedding is hiding another kind of hair loss.

How common it is and how long it lasts

At two hospitals in Tokyo, Hirose and colleagues sent a questionnaire to women 10 to 18 months after delivery. Of 331 mothers who answered, 304, or 91.8 percent, reported hair loss after giving birth. On average it started at 2.9 months, peaked at 5.1 months, and ended at 8.1 months. So for most mothers the shedding is a phase with a clear start and a clear end.

What made it worse

In the same study, two things stood out as independent predictors: preterm labour and longer breastfeeding. Women who stopped breastfeeding at 6 to 12 months had about six times the odds of hair loss compared with women who stopped within 6 months, and the same held for women who breastfed for 12 months or more. The authors note that the answers came from memory and that mothers with hair loss were more likely to reply. Breastfeeding is still the right choice for your baby, and this finding simply explains why the shedding feels longer for many nursing mothers.

Hair fall and anxiety go together

A second analysis of the same 331 mothers looked at mood. Women with very much hair loss had about 4.5 times the odds of anxiety compared with women who had none, even after first-time motherhood and poor sleep were taken into account. If the shedding is stressing you, you are not imagining it, and it is worth telling your doctor about both the hair and the worry.

When it is more than postpartum shedding

In Cairo, Galal and colleagues examined 200 women with hair loss after giving birth, using a scalp camera. Only 9.5 percent had shedding alone. 56 percent also had androgenetic alopecia, the pattern thinning driven by androgens, 6.5 percent also had traction alopecia from tight hairstyles, and 28 percent had all three. These women came to a dermatology department, so they were the harder cases, and the lesson is clear: the stress of birth uncovers thinning that was already starting.

Mirallas and Grimalt reviewed the older research and found no study that proved shedding differs between pregnant and postpartum women. Their point is a useful warning. Do not let "it is just postpartum" explain away thinning that keeps going.

What to do

Give normal postpartum shedding time, since it ends by about 8 months for most mothers. See a doctor if the shedding goes past a year, if your parting or crown looks wider, or if you have heavy bleeding, extreme tiredness, or feel cold all the time, because thyroid problems and low iron after delivery also cause hair fall. Our ferritin note explains the iron test. Loosen tight buns and ponytails to protect the hairline.

Where Folli-Activ fits

Folli-Activ was not the product in any of these studies. It is a 10-in-1 oral formula aimed at the pattern thinning that the Cairo study found in most of its patients: saw palmetto, pumpkin seed oil, and nettle root for the androgen side explained in our saw palmetto note, curcumin with piperine and EGCG for follicle inflammation, biotin for hair keratin work, plus reishi, royal jelly, and aloe vera. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, check with your doctor before starting any supplement, Folli-Activ included.

Each bottle holds 90 capsules. On this site, 1 bottle is RM169, 3 bottles are RM447, and 6 bottles are RM699 with free shipping. Go to the cart to see your total with delivery.

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