Why Some Babies Have ʜᴀɪʀ and Some Don’t, Someone So Cute
There’s an old wives’ tale that says a woman who experiences ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴜʀɴ during pregnancy will have a baby with a Fᴜʟʟ ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴏF ʜᴀɪʀ. In 2006, ʀᴇsᴇᴀʀᴄʜᴇʀs ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ this and found that out of 28 women who had ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴜʀɴ, 23 of them had babies with lots of ʜᴀɪʀ. They believed that the ʜᴏʀᴍᴏɴᴇs ʀᴇʟᴇᴀsᴇᴅ during pregnancy could also ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴏʟ ᴀ ʙᴀʙʏ’s ʜᴀɪʀ ɢʀᴏᴡᴛʜ. Regardless of whether or not it’s true, some babies come into the world with ʜᴀɪʀ and some don’t, but they’re just as precious either way.
We is attempting to understand the reasons behind this ᴄᴜʀɪᴏᴜs ᴘʜᴇɴᴏᴍᴇɴᴏɴ ʀᴇɢᴀʀᴅɪɴɢ our little ones.
Gᴇɴᴇᴛɪᴄs may play a role in this.
While ᴇxᴘᴇʀᴛs aren’t 100% sure why some babies are born with ʜᴀɪʀ and some aren’t, they believe that ɢᴇɴᴇs and DNA may have a hand in it. Usually, ʜᴀɪʀ growth occurs around the thirtieth week of pregnancy. If a baby begins to grow ʜᴀɪʀ in the ᴡᴏᴍʙ, it’ll likely be born with ʜᴀɪʀ on its head.
A newborn’s ʜᴀɪʀ may look different when they’re older.
Babies are born with all the ʜᴀɪʀ Fᴏʟʟɪᴄʟᴇs that they will ever have in their lives. However, a baby’s ʜᴀɪʀ (or lack of it) could bear little resemblance to the ʜᴀɪʀ they’ll have when they’re older. A baby born with a full mane could ɢᴏ ʙᴀʟᴅ a few months later, and a ʙᴀʟᴅ baby could ɢʀᴏᴡ ᴛʜɪᴄᴋ ʜᴀɪʀ ᴀFᴛᴇʀ some time. Their new locks could even be very different from their first round of ʜᴀɪʀ.
ʙᴀʟᴅ babies aren’t necessarily ʟᴀᴄᴋɪɴɢ ɴᴜᴛʀɪᴇɴᴛs.
Since babies are born with different amounts of ʜᴀɪʀ, some parents may worry that it’s because the mother didn’t have enough nutrients during pregnancy or that the baby didn’t get enough calcium. But these are actually not true, and it’s normal for babies to have scanty ʜᴀɪʀ up until age 1. It’s only if the baby doesn’t have enough iron or sᴜFFᴇʀs Fʀᴏᴍ ᴅɪsᴇᴀsᴇs that their ʜᴀɪʀ growth could be affected, but usually, there will be other signs that aren’t related to ʜᴀɪʀ as well.
Some newborns have fine ʜᴀɪʀ that will shed.
Lanugo is the ʜᴀɪʀ that covers the body of some newborns. Fᴇᴛᴜsᴇs ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘ ʟᴀɴᴜɢᴏ around the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy and shed it around the sixth or seventh month of pregnancy. This means that it’s often gone before birth, but some ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ babies may still be covered with this fine ʜᴀɪʀ.
Babies having ʜᴀɪʀ ʟᴏss is normal.
Most newborns ʟᴏse some or all of their ʜᴀɪʀ in their first 6 months of life. It’s common for them to ʟᴏse their ʜᴀɪʀ as a result of their scalp rubbing against the mattress or if they have a habit of head-banging. There will be less of such friction once they begin to move more, sit up, or simply outgrow these habits.
It could be due to ᴍᴀᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ ʜᴏʀᴍᴏɴᴇs.
Hormone levels are high inside the ᴡᴏᴍʙ, so they may help to promote the baby’s ʜᴀɪʀ growth as well. However, after delivery, hormone levels drop significantly. This slows down a newborn’s ʜᴀɪʀ growth.
What other reasons do you think babies are born with or without ʜᴀɪʀ? Were you or your children born with a Fᴜʟʟ ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴏF ʜᴀɪʀ or none at all?
Source: news.motheringdiary.com