28th July, 2024

Understanding Hair Loss During Pregnancy: Causes and Solutions

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Reviewed By

Dr Dhananjay Chavan

Dermatologist

What are the causes of hair loss during pregnancy?

Hair loss during pregnancy is a common concern for many women, often caused by hormonal fluctuations, nutritional deficiencies, and stress on the body.

This blog from HairMD explores the main reasons behind pregnancy-related hair loss, including hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, miscarriage, and other medical conditions such as gestational diabetes. Understanding these factors can help you manage and mitigate hair loss during this period.

What’s covered in the article?

  • Causes of hair loss during pregnancy
  • Hair loss pregnancy symptom
  • Reasons for hair loss during pregnancy
  • Other Reasons for hair loss during pregnancy
  • Conclusion

Causes of hair loss during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a very beautiful moment in a women’s life. You will come up will various hurdles in your life during this phase, but still, you need to keep yourself calm. Hair fall during pregnancy is also one of the major issues a women faces in her life. Hair fall is very depressing not only for the pregnant lady but also for others as well. Today we will learn about the causes of hair loss during pregnancy.

Hair loss pregnancy symptom

During pregnancy, you can experience hair fall, but there are various reasons which are responsible for hair fall. Actually, if you notice the hair fall after pregnancy is due is hormonal. There are many other symptoms that can cause hair loss during pregnancy such as:

  • Lactation
  • Caesarean
  • A sudden decrease in estrogen
  • Sudden weight loss post-pregnancy

Reasons for hair loss during pregnancy

Let’s check the reasons which are those responsible for hair fall. There are a lot of complications that happen during pregnancy. Here are some situations where hair loss can become a major problem:

  • Pregnancy Nutrition

There are many other reasons for hair loss during pregnancy as well. As the body now has to feed two bodies, the nutrition can sometimes lack from the body. A lot of times, iron deficiency can occur in underweight expectant mothers. This results in anaemia and lack of folic acid as well, which is an extremely important nutrient for baby’s growth. Vitamin B 12 deficiency is another cause for lack of nutrition in women, especially in pregnant women. All of these aforementioned deficiencies can highly result in hair loss in pregnant women.

  • Miscarriage/Abortion

Unfortunately for expecting moms, who lose their babies- a miscarriage comes as a really hard time. But, hair loss does not start appearing for a long time after the miscarriage. The hormones take time to stabilize in the body and only after that the hair loss becomes visible. Hair Loss is an extremely common side effect after the termination of a pregnancy. In fact, a lot of women complain of Telogen Effluvium but it is highly temporary.

  • Contraceptive Pills

As contraceptive pills result in hormonal changes, the discontinuation can affect hair growth largely. You might start to see hair loss a month or two after discontinuing the pills.

  • Hormonal Imbalance

All of the aforementioned causes are a result of hormonal imbalance. As a woman, you are bound to go through a lot of hormonal changes but imbalance during pregnancy can get quite unbearable.

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Other Reasons for hair loss during pregnancy

  • Anti depression pills 

During pregnancy, if you take medication for PH levels, anxiety, or to treat depression- then hair loss occurs more frequently than before. All of these medications add to hormonal imbalances and cause our hair to shed.

  • Gestational diabetes in pregnancy

Another reason to suffer through hair loss is when during pregnancy, a woman is suffering from gestational diabetes or fungal infection (generally ringworm). Hair Loss is anyway common after pregnancy as there is a lot of hormonal imbalance. But, even during the course of pregnancy, it becomes really difficult to keep a check on hair loss as gestational diabetes mellitus and fungal infection can take over.

  • Telogen Effluvium

Telogen Effluvium is mainly caused by a lot of hormonal stress on the body or a change in metabolic rate extensively. It is a form of non-scarring alopecia. The chances of getting Telogen Effluvium in pregnant women are very high as the hormonal stress and the metabolic rate, both are majorly affected the growth of a baby inside. The excessive shedding of hair during Telogen Effluvium affects 40-50% of women after one to five months following the delivery. The good news is, that like most changes that one’s body goes through during pregnancy- this is also temporary.

Important Resource

What kind of doctor treats hair loss?

This article is only written to clear your doubts about the reasons that can cause hair loss during pregnancy. But, please do not worry and enjoy the newest blessing in your life.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, hair loss during pregnancy is often due to changes in hormone levels, nutritional imbalances, or stress on the body. While temporary, this condition can be concerning for many women. Maintaining a balanced diet, proper hair care, and consulting with a healthcare professional can help manage and alleviate pregnancy-related hair loss. If the issue persists post-pregnancy, medical advice may be necessary to rule out other underlying causes.

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