There are so many pregnancy myths out there. And most of them are just that. If my baby’s heart rate is high, does that mean it’s a boy? My belly is shaped like a basketball, does that mean it’s a boy? My skin is so soft, does that mean it’s a girl? My hair is so thick and luxurious, does that mean it’s a boy? The list goes on and on. There have not been any studies that have shown truth to any of these myths.
However, there was a recent study that showed an association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair. Heartburn is such a common symptom during pregnancy and becomes even more common as the pregnancy progresses. 22% of women suffer from heartburn in the first trimester, 39% suffer from it in the second trimester, and 72% in the third trimester. Symptoms of heartburn rapidly increases towards the end of the second trimester.
The study had 64 pregnant women rank the severity of their heartburn. 78% of these women had symptoms of heartburn during their pregnancies. After the women gave birth, photographs of the babies’ heads were given to researchers to rate the amount of newborn hair. What they found was that 23 out of 28 women with moderate to severe heartburn had babies with average or above average amounts of hair. Meanwhile 10 of the 12 women with no heartburn had babies with little or no hair. So it looks like there is definitely an association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair.
So, if that’s the case, is the hair on my baby’s head causing the heartburn. Not necessarily. It’s not the hair that is causing the heartburn as much as the interplay of hormones that makes heartburn worse and increases the hair on your baby’s head. High hormone levels during pregnancy can relax the sphincter of the esophagus which will cause some of your stomach acid to leak increasing the burning sensation felt with heartburn. These same hormones allow your baby to have a fuller head of hair. So, it’s not the hair causing the heartburn as much as the hormones causing the heartburn and the hair!!!
Dr. Pam
However, there was a recent study that showed an association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair. Heartburn is such a common symptom during pregnancy and becomes even more common as the pregnancy progresses. 22% of women suffer from heartburn in the first trimester, 39% suffer from it in the second trimester, and 72% in the third trimester. Symptoms of heartburn rapidly increases towards the end of the second trimester.
The study had 64 pregnant women rank the severity of their heartburn. 78% of these women had symptoms of heartburn during their pregnancies. After the women gave birth, photographs of the babies’ heads were given to researchers to rate the amount of newborn hair. What they found was that 23 out of 28 women with moderate to severe heartburn had babies with average or above average amounts of hair. Meanwhile 10 of the 12 women with no heartburn had babies with little or no hair. So it looks like there is definitely an association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair.
So, if that’s the case, is the hair on my baby’s head causing the heartburn. Not necessarily. It’s not the hair that is causing the heartburn as much as the interplay of hormones that makes heartburn worse and increases the hair on your baby’s head. High hormone levels during pregnancy can relax the sphincter of the esophagus which will cause some of your stomach acid to leak increasing the burning sensation felt with heartburn. These same hormones allow your baby to have a fuller head of hair. So, it’s not the hair causing the heartburn as much as the hormones causing the heartburn and the hair!!!
Dr. Pam
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