"Photo by PR Photos"
The celebrity press is buzzing with the news that Kim Kardashian, 32, and Kanye West, 35, are expecting their first baby. It's being said that Kim is three months pregnant, which would put the due date in the June/July timeframe.
Since this is Kim's first baby, she may be surprised by one common symptom in the immediate post-partum period: hair loss. This type of temporary, rapid shedding event is known as 'telogen effluvium' and it frequently occurs in women after child birth. What causes it? During pregnancy, an increase in the hormone estrogen pumps up the normal hair growth cycle, resulting in more total strands and increased 'thickness' in the hair as well. However, what goes up must come down, so once the baby is born, the body brings those hormone levels down again, to a more normal state, and, as a result, the woman's scalp suddenly sheds a lot of hair at once.
This may or may not happen to Kim. (And, remember, it's a common temporary symptom.) If it does, however, I'm sure we'll all be reading about it on Twitter!
