08/12/2022
Something not really spoken about much. So Interesting.
💢A HAIRY BABY IS NORMAL💢
Did you know that your baby could be born with a little or a lot of body hair?😱 This body hair is called Lanugo and it’s completely normal.
Not only is it normal, it’s beneficial to your baby.
What does it do?🤔 Why is it on my baby?🤔 Will my baby stay hairy?🤔
📌Lanugo is the first hair that your baby starts to form in the womb.
📌It is very soft, fine, usually unpigmented and covers the bodies of almost all babies except for his palms, the soles of his feet, lips, ge****ls, nails and sides of fingers and toes.
📌This hair usually starts to form on a fetus around 5 months gestation.
📌This unpigmented hair generally falls off or is consumed by your baby between the 36th and 40th week of pregnancy.
WHAT DOES LANUGO ACTUALLY DO?
➖it serves as a barrier to protect your baby’s skin from the constant submersion in amniotic fluid.
➖when it starts to fall off in the womb, your baby swallows it and it is stored in his intestines and helps form meconium, which is the first bowel movement your little one will have.
➖it helps vernix adhere to your baby’s skin. Vernix is a waxy white substance which helps your baby stay nice and warm in utero plus MANY other benefits(please read my article on benefits of vernix)
📌Babies born prematurely tend to have more lanugo present than those born full term, although many full term babies are born with lots of lanugo and is not a reason for concern.
📌Any leftover Lanugo disappears on its own within a few days or weeks after birth. You do not need to do anything except wait for it to fall off on its own.
📌It does not mean your baby will tend to have more body hair as an adult.
✅LANUGO IS NORMAL AND SERVES A PURPOSE✅
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