Postpartum hair loss is a normal part of the post-pregnancy experience, but many first-time moms-to-be may not be aware of it.
A recent video of one mom’s experience with postpartum hair loss was posted to Instagram Tuesday and has since garnered over 1.4 million views as of Thursday afternoon.
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The video was posted by Christina Kreitel, owner of Intrepid Studio Salon in Orem, Utah, and it shows the stylist pulling out large clumps of hair from a client experiencing the hair loss.
“Nothing like that Post Pregnancy Shed man!!!!” Kreitel wrote. “You know the time, 4 months postpartum and you FILL that drain! I’m going through this myself and like to collect it on the wall of my shower.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcBfpr8BD5I/?taken-at=487668808275293
The post inspired other mothers to come forward with their own stories of postpartum hair loss to tell.
“I cried in the shower when it came out in clumps like that,” janinemartorana commented. “And I had bald spots especially along my hairline. Happened after both of my kids. I even knew to expect it with my 2nd and it was still upsetting.”
“I’m going through this now!” Instagram user azuquitapati said. “My baby just turned 4 months on Tuesday… does it stop falling out! I’m going nuts trying different things but nothing seems to work.”
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“No one had mentioned this to me,” Garcia_87g wrote. “And when it happened I was freaking out. My hair fell out for maybe a few weeks. But since I have a lot of hair and thick. You could barely tell. My hair is back to normal and healthy.”
According to the American Pregnancy Association, 90 per cent of a woman’s hair is always growing and every three months the 10 per cent that was in a resting stage begins to shed. However, in the case of pregnancy, elevated hormone levels (estrogen) change that process. When hormones begin to plummet, that’s when hair starts to fall out.
And just because the hair may shed and leave some parts of the scalp bald, it is only temporary and the hair will grow back, they say.
The hair loss is not noticeable for all women, but it does tend to be more dramatic with women who have longer hair, BabyCenter.com says. There is no way to prevent the hair loss as it is a cycle the hair goes through naturally.
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