About three to four months after you have your baby, just about the time when he or she is starting to get really cute and aware, you may notice your hair beginning to fall out. In fact, you may get pretty thin in spots and notice clumps around the shower drain. It may come as a relief to know that this is a normal part of pregnancy. The hair loss will most likely be temporary, and if you are otherwise healthy, it's going to grow back and be just like it was before you became pregnant. So breathe a sign of relief, and sit back and read about what's going on in your body that causes this to happen to you.
From the moment of conception, your body starts to change. You will experience a huge influx of hormones that are designed to protect the baby's uterine habitat for the next 9 months. Without the hormones, your body would rid itself of the uterine lining that has built up to shelter the baby, and you'd lose the fetus with it. You may start noticing these hormones acting up in other ways, too. While your body is adjusting to a different way of life during your first trimester, your hormones can cause nausea and vomiting, extreme fatigue, an increase in zits, and sensitivity to things like temperature changes and strong smells.
At the same time, the hormones are affecting your hair. Although you may notice some dryness and breakage of hair, you will probably also start seeing that your hair is getting thicker and more luxurious than it has ever been in your life. This is because pregnancy and all those hormones disrupt the normal hair cycles. You may not have ever noticed, but all your life you go through periods of hair growth and periods of hair loss. During pregnancy, things change enough so that you don't have the periods of loss. Therefore, all your hair stays put, and your hair thickens and looks gorgeous.
Once the baby is born, however, your body starts working to get back to normal. This means that the excess of hormones, which are no longer needed, leave the body, and your systems revert back to the way they were pre-pregnancy, and all that hair that became so full during pregnancy will start falling out. There's no need to get alarmed, because all that's happening is that 9 months worth of non-shed hair will all fall out at once. It may leave you looking a bit thin for a few months, but leave it alone, and eventually it will get back to the way it was before your baby's conception.
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