Hemorrhaging Hair

Ok, so maybe it's not exactly correct to call losing copious amounts of hair hemorrhaging (with hem being a Latin root for blood and all), but it fits. Consider the above photo of the hair that came out of my head while washing my hair this morning (it does not include the ones that fell out during brushing). I have been losing that much hair every time I wash my hair for about 3 weeks, and realize it is related to hormones normalizing after G's birth. However, that doesn't allay my fears about going bald during the sloughing off.

This is one of the things (the many, many things) they don't tell you about pregnancy-higher levels of estrogen during pregnancy make your hair fall out slower than usual, so lots of pregnant women end up with thicker, more lustrous locks than prior to getting pregnant (the numbers, if you care, are that you normally lose about 100 hairs a day). The problem is that about three months after you have the baby (why I am delayed by five months is a mystery to me), you will likely develop a condition called telogen effluvium, a fancy medical term for hemorrhaging hair. For up to six months, you can lose 500 hairs a day. Luckily, one website had a bit of encouragement for me:

"Within another six months or so, you should return to a pre-pregnancy rate of hair loss, but you may find that the texture of your hair is never exactly the same. It may be wavier or straighter or more dry or oily than it was before pregnancy. This is probably due to the hormonal upheaval you've just been through."

Great! Fantastic!!-just six more months of rabid hair loss. Umm..if I continue to lose this much hair every day, I'll look like Mr. Clean in 6 months. The bright side? Of course there is always that. There are tons of wig choices out there. Just ask Britney.