Baby hair loss

Is it normal for my baby’s hair to fall out?

It is very common for baby’s hair to start falling out after a few weeks or months; some babies are born with a thick head of hair and end up with hardly any hair after a couple of months. Most experts agree that hair loss is due to decreased hormone levels; the levels are a lot higher when the baby is still inside the mother so hair is more likely to grow. Many babies also rub their hair and develop bald patches; sleeping or lying in the same position can also wear down hair in certain parts of the scalp. Hair may fall out very gradually in patches, meaning your baby’s hair may look a bit funny for a while; they may have certain areas with patches of thick hair and others with hardly any hair; eventually hair growth will even up and your baby will have a nice, even head of hair.

Will my baby’s hair stay the same colour?

Many people have completely different hair colour to when they were born; sometimes, the colour changes fairly soon after birth and other times, it changes gradually over the course of several years. Some parents find that their baby’s hair falls out and then grows back a different colour. Often, people who are born with light hair find that it gets darker as they get older; in some cases, people who are born with very blonde hair may end up having dark brown hair.

Is there anything I can do?

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do to stop your baby’s hair falling out; don’t panic as it will grow back and most babies lose a certain amount of hair.

What if my baby is bald?

It is very common for babies to be bald so don’t worry; if you look closely at your baby’s scalp, you will probably notice that you can see tiny hairs emerging from the follicles; every child is different and some will have much more hair than others. If your baby is still bald by the age of 2, this may signify a problem with their diet or another type of health issue, so arrange to see your GP. If you notice changes in your baby’s scalp or it appears to be irritated or red, arrange to see your GP to get it checked out.

Caring for your newborn:

• Caring for your newborn
• What are dummies?
• Newborns and movement
• Burping your baby
• Playing with your newborn
• Caring for newborns with and without circumcision
• Baby hair loss
• Baby Massage
• Newborn Clothing: Dressing and body temperature
• Newborn and home safety
• Newborn: When others want to hold or touch
• Babies and pets
• Baby constipation
• Baby clothes
• What should my first aid kit contain?
• Taking a baby’s temperature
• Baby medicine

• Coping with your newborn
• Newborn: When to call a doctor?
• Baby hygiene
• Trimming baby nails
• Caring for babies’ bottoms
• Baby poo
• How to care for your newborn’s body
• Newborns and nappies
• Caring for your Baby’s Clothes
• Baby Milestones
• Baby first aid
• Common baby emergencies
• How to help a choking baby
• Baby vomiting
• Keeping your baby safe
• Baby Monitors
• Baby swimming