Why Some Babies Have Hair and Some Don’t.
People used to believe that if a pregnant woman had heartburn, her baby would be born with lots of hair. In 2006, scientists studied this and found that out of 28 women with heartburn, 23 had babies with lots of hair. They thought pregnancy hormones might influence baby hair growth. Whether it’s true or not, some babies are born with hair, and some aren’t. But all babies are precious, no matter how much hair they have.
We are trying to figure out why this interesting thing happens with our little ones.
A baby’s hair might change as they grow up.
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Babies have all the hair follicles they’ll ever have from the start. But the hair they’re born with might not look like the hair they’ll have as they get older. A baby born with a lot of hair might lose it and become bald, while a bald baby could later grow thick hair. The new hair might also be quite different from their first set of hair.
Genetics might have something to do with it.
Even though experts aren’t completely certain why some babies are born with hair and others aren’t, they think that genes and DNA could be involved. Typically, hair starts growing around the thirtieth week of pregnancy. If a baby starts growing hair in the womb, it will probably be born with hair on its head.
Maternal hormones might be a reason for it.
Hormone levels are high inside the womb, and they might help the baby’s hair grow. But after birth, hormone levels drop a lot, which slows down the newborn’s hair growth.
Babies without hair might not be missing nutrients.
Parents might worry that if their baby has more or less hair, it’s because the mom lacked nutrients or the baby didn’t get enough calcium during pregnancy. However, this is not true. It’s normal for babies to have little hair until they’re around 1 year old. If a baby lacks iron or has certain illnesses, it might affect hair growth, but usually, there are other signs not related to hair.
Certain newborns have fine hair that will eventually fall out.
Lanugo is the soft hair that covers the bodies of some newborns. Babies develop lanugo around the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy and usually shed it around the sixth or seventh month. So, it’s often gone before birth, but premature babies might still have this fine hair on their bodies.
It’s normal for babies to experience hair loss.
It’s common for most babies to lose some or all of their hair in the first 6 months of life. This can happen because their scalp rubs against the mattress or if they have a habit of head-banging. Once babies start moving more, sitting up, or outgrow these habits, there will be less friction, and hair loss tends to decrease.
Why do you believe some babies are born with hair and others aren’t? Were you or your kids born with a lot of hair or none at all?