I wanted to use this space to talk about postpartum sex but my husband said no. Hard no.
Fine, (talking about) postpartum sex is off the table.
A woman’s body goes through so much during and after pregnancy. Everything seems to change.
I had a baby last year and I thought I had avoided the dreaded postpartum hair loss. It was around month four that it all changed and my hair started falling out in clumps.
My husband (bless his heart) now lives in a household with four females and that doesn’t include our dog — who is also a girl. He has become a professional at cleaning out drains but he has even noticed that the shower drain is worse than normal.
I’m leaving hair everywhere.
I feel like Hansel and Gretal leaving a path of pebbles, or in my case, hair, to find my way back home.
One of my biggest fears currently is being called by the police and questioned as to why my DNA is at a crime scene. My DNA is everywhere, all over town. It’s gross. My hair is so thin now.
Women go through so much before, during and after pregnancy. While hair loss seems superficial and I know it is only temporary, it is still part of me that I am losing.
I realize it could have it much worse. But it had me thinking, why does this even happen? My hair had no part in growing a baby.
Read more from the Sticky Files: Where is the parent hand book?
It turns out, hormones are to blame. Excessive shedding is caused by falling estrogen levels.
Pregnant women first experience high estrogen and progesterone levels, which causes hair to grow and be more voluminous but then hormones typically level out after childbirth and the extra hair growth disappears.
New moms in the first couple of months can lose around 400 hairs a day, a regular woman loses about 80.
There is not a whole lot that can be done except take some vitamins, wash hair less and use soft scrunchies to throw it up into a mom bun.
READ MORE FROM THE STICKY FILES: No time for negativity
The other side to losing hair could also be dangerous to the baby.
Hair can get wrapped around a baby’s finger or toe and cut off circulation. It’s called hair tourniquet and can be very serious.
New parents don’t have enough to worry about, right?
If your baby is crying excessively it is a good idea to check their whole body and seek medical advice if you notice a swollen and red finger or toe.
@MariscaDekkema
marisca.bakker@interior-news.com
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