During pregnancy, you may notice and admire your luscious locks of hair and volume that only shampoo ads seem to achieve. This is because a little-known pregnancy hormone causes a pause in the growth phase of the hair cycle. But what can be frustrating and even concerning is reading about the postpartum hair loss. Up to 90% of women experience postpartum hair loss, also known in the medical world as telogen effluvium.
And we’ve been wondering… does double (or more) babies mean double the hair loss?
Why does it happen?
In the early stages of postpartum, the body has experienced physiological stress and a shift in Oestrogen. This restarts your hair’s normal growth cycle, but the hair loss itself is delayed until around 3months postpartum and can last up to 6months.
Can we expect double of the hair loss considering a mum that has given birth to twins or more, due to a great hormonal shift and a nutritional and physical demands?
The frustrating answer that we are often faced with in our community is that we just don’t know. Evidence collected on postpartum hairloss is almost exclusively based singleton pregnancies. However, we can hypothesis that based on the greater nutritional and physical demands of a multiple pregnancy could put mums at higher risk of experiencing more noticeable postpartum shedding.
What can we do to avoid it?
Now, whilst we cannot avoid postpartum hair loss, here are some considerations to reduce exacerbating it
- Prioritise iron: Include iron-rich foods and take supplements if recommended. Regular blood tests help track iron status and avoid deficiency.
- Eat enough postpartum: Skipping meals or restricting food to “bounce back” quickly can worsen hair loss. Aim to eat the same—or slightly more—than during pregnancy.
- Protein at every meal: Hair is made of protein, so make sure each meal has a decent source (e.g., eggs, lean meat, legumes, tofu, dairy).
References:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10846762/
