Why You Lose Hair Post Delivery

You can thank your hormones for having luscious locks and glowing skin during pregnancy. You can also thank your hormones for feeling like you are balding and breaking out post-delivery.

Normally your hair has three cycles: growing, resting and falling out. During pregnancy, because of the estrogen surge, you have more hair than usual in the growing phase. Post delivery, the estrogen levels drop and you have more hair than usual in the falling out phase which makes you feel like you are going bald.

The phenomenon is called telogen effluvium. Sejal Shah, M.D., told Fit Pregnancy in an interview, "Generally with telogen effluvium, there's some sort of event —in this situation it's giving birth, but there can be other causes—basically a larger amount of your hair than normal is triggered to enter this resting/shedding phase. It takes about three months for that hair to shed out. That's why most people notice shedding around the three-month postpartum mark."

So relax, you are not going bald. Your hair will return to its normal state within 3-6 months of delivering the baby. And while you may not be able to stop the hair loss, you can manage it by making sure your diet is rich in iron and protein. You can also take biotin supplements that promote hair growth.

It is advised that hair growth products like Rogaine be avoided post-delivery as they may harm breastfeeding women.

Above all else, have patience, your hair will be back!