You may find a bald baby extremely cute and you may get encouraged to hug him. His proud parents may also feel "on top of the world" as you show your appreciation for their most beautiful possession. But somewhere or at some point of time, parents may start showing concern about their baby's baldness or hair fall issue.
What they need to know is that hair loss is completely normal in newborns. Babies are likely to lose their hair in the initial stage of their lives. The hair strands in babies as well as in adults, have to go through two stages namely the growing stage and the resting stage. In case of the newborns all the hair follicles enter the resting period at the same time itself. But there are certain conditions which can induce hair loss in newborns. Some of these are:
- Tinea Capitis: Tinea capitis, commonly known as ringworm of the scalp, is a fungal infection often seen in children. It is seen as scaly patches of hair loss on the head. The patches are usually round or oval. The hairs may be broken off at the surface of the skin and may look like black dots on the scalp.
- Alopecia Areata: Alopecia areata is a non-contagious condition of hair loss thought to be caused by the attack of the immune system on the hair follicles. It appears as round oval patches of hair loss.
- Trichotillomania: Trichotillomania denotes hair loss caused by pulling, plucking, twisting or rubbing. The hair loss is patchy and characterized by broken hairs of varying length. Patches are typically seen on the side of the child's dominant hand.
- Position: Sleeping in the same position for several hours at a time can also be one of the causes for baby hair loss.
- Stress, Fever and Hormonal Change: About 5 to 15 percent of hair on the scalp is usually in the resting phase at any one time, but stress, fever or a hormonal change can cause a large number of hairs to stop growing all at once. The shedding begins when the next growth stage starts up about three months later.
- Nutritional Deficiency: Vitamin H or biotin is one of the B complex vitamins which help the body to convert carbohydrates into glucose to fuel the body. Zinc, an essential mineral, is involved in numerous aspects of cellular metabolism. It also supports normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood and adolescence.
- Endocrine Problems: In some children the cause of hair loss is hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland is underactive and it produces an insufficient amount of thyroid hormones which fall far short of meeting the demands of metabolism.
Treating Hair Fall in Newborns
- Use a Horseshoe Pillow: Use a horseshoe pillow for your baby so that even if he sleeps in the same position for longer hours, it will prevent hair fall.
- Massage Scalp With Oil: Massaging your baby's head with oil does not prevent hair loss, but may help in blood circulation in his scalp. For the first 18 months of his life, your baby will have soft spots on his head. So it is important to be gentle while massaging his head.
- Shave Off: In India, the Mundan ceremony is prevalent. It involves shaving off the baby hair completely in the first year after birth. This ceremony does not come with a guarantee of growth of thicker hair or with lesser chances of hair fall, but by shaving off the hair at least there can be a possibility of not having hair fall at all.
- Change His Position: If possible try changing the position in which the baby sleeps after some time. Try to put him on his belly, of course once he learns to roll over and feels comfortable sleeping on his tummy.
- Consult a Pediatrician: If the hair fall still continues then share this with your baby's pediatrician and let him know about it. Expert advice is more beneficial in such cases.
Don't focus on the hair, look to the scalp for answers. If your baby's scalp looks healthy, the hair loss is just a normal part of being a baby. A healthy scalp looks soft with no scaling, redness or oozing. Take everything as just a beginning of life - you'll soon see "soft grasses" peeping through the "apparent desert"!
