What causes hair loss during breastfeeding?

One of the more depressing things after giving birth is hair loss. About a hundred days after the baby, the hair on the head starts to fall out. It was relatively good at the beginning and not that much hair fell out. But as time went by, more and more hair fell out. So much hair would fall out when you comb your hair on a normal day, not to mention when you wash your hair. What factors cause your hair loss? What caused it?

Many women have shiny black hair before giving birth, but after giving birth, the hair falls out sparsely. Why is this? To answer this question, we must first understand the hair growth process. We know that hair goes through three stages: growth phase, dormancy phase and shedding phase. After a hair completes these three stages, it will fall out and be replaced by a new hair. This process happens about once every five years. Since hair is replaced in stages and batches, not everyone can feel that their hair is constantly metabolizing. So, why is hair loss easy after childbirth? Generally speaking, it is closely related to the following three factors:

1. Hormonal changes: During pregnancy, the amount of estrogen in the body increases, making the hair during pregnancy the most beautiful period of life. These "long-lived" hairs are "serving beyond their service life". Once the little angel is born, the estrogen content in the body begins to decrease and return to the normal balance before pregnancy. Therefore, the "reduction" of estrogen causes those "overserved" hairs to "retire" one after another; at the same time, new hair cannot grow all of a sudden, resulting in hair loss.

2. Malnutrition: In theory, the nutrition of the mother should be very rich, and there should be no problem of malnutrition. However, many mothers nowadays are afraid that they will gain weight and affect their body shape after the "confinement month", so they go on diets and are picky about food. In addition, the nutritional requirements during breastfeeding are higher than usual. If they also experience loss of appetite, indigestion or poor absorption, they will lack protein, vitamins, inorganic salts and trace elements, which will affect the normal growth and metabolism of hair and cause hair loss.

3. Mental factors: Mental factors are closely related to hair. Some women hoped to give birth to a boy, but ended up giving birth to a girl. They were very disappointed and unhappy. Coupled with a lot of mental pressure from all sides, this negative emotion and heavy psychological burden will cause hair loss. Hair loss will become a new mental stimulus, and the cycle will continue, with more and more hair loss. Generally speaking, hair loss does not occur immediately after delivery, but usually occurs between 2 and 7 months after delivery.

How to prevent and treat postpartum hair loss? First, avoid mental stress, because nervousness can only aggravate the degree of hair loss. Secondly, combing your hair frequently with a wooden comb or massaging your scalp with your fingers can help blood circulation in the scalp, thereby accelerating the growth of new hair. Third, wash your hair regularly. When the hormones in the body return to the balance before pregnancy after childbirth, the oil content in the scalp and hair will increase, so you should wash your hair regularly. Fourth, we must pay attention to a balanced diet, especially for breastfeeding mothers, who should pay more attention to increasing nutrition and not be picky eaters, partial eaters or avoid certain foods. In addition, the taste of the dishes should be light rather than salty.

The above introduces the causes of hair loss and how to prevent hair loss and hair growth after childbirth. When such a phenomenon occurs, it is best not to take medications to promote hair growth in normal times. This will harm the baby, so be careful.