Saturday, January 27, 2007

Post-Partum Hair Loss

I haven't had bangs since I was in 9th grade. I grew up on Long Island - I not only had bangs, I had bangs that were sprayed to stand straight up. Needless to say, it was not a bad thing for me - or the environment - when my bangs grew in. And then I got pregnant.

When I was pregnant with LP, I was probably one of the few women that hated the thicker hair that accompanies pregnancy. I already had thick hair, I was used to my hair, this bushy new look wasn't doing it for me. If only I had known then about post-partum hair loss (PPHL)- I wouldn't have complained.

When LP turned 3 months old - almost to the day - I started noticing my hair was falling out. When I say noticing, I mean the water in the shower was up around my ankles because so much hair was clogging the drain. I didn't get bald spots, and unless you really looked at my hairline, you wouldn't have noticed I was losing hair. Or unless you were my daughter and husband who were constantly finding long, brown hair all over the house.

Needlesss to say I was relieved when my hair stopped falling out in mass quantities right around the time LP turned 6 months old. However, now everyone is noticing that I lost my hair because I have these fabulous spiky bangs. And by fabulous, I mean they stink. Some lay flat, some stand up, some are interspersed with longer hairs; in general, I have NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH MY HEAD. Add this to the fact that LP has some need to yank my hair at all times so it it constantly in a ponytail.

Am I the only mom on the planet that was caught off-guard by PPHL? And, according to the JobMom blog Post Partum Dental problems are on the horizon as well.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You're not the only one. I shed like a mangy dog for the first year after each son was born.