Lanugo is the name for the soft, downy hair that covers Baby’s body beginning in about the fifth month of pregnancy. They will eventually lose all of this hair before or shortly after being born.
Why does Baby grow lanugo?
In early gestation, Baby doesn’t have enough fat to regulate their own body temperature. As a result, lanugo will begin to grow as a light coating over most of their body to help keep them warm.
When does lanugo fall off?
Lanugo generally sloughs off deeper into pregnancy as Baby gains more ability to control their body temperature, and has increased fat accumulation beneath their super-soft skin. Most babies lose their lanugo in the eighth or ninth month of pregnancy, though some can be born with remnants of the fine coating still on their bodies. However, nearly all lanugo will be shed by three or four months after birth.
A wild fun fact: Babies eat the lanugo that they shed while in the womb, and it is part of what builds up within them to form the substance that makes up their first poop, known as meconium.
What’s next for Baby’s hair?
Whether Baby is born with a full head of hair and a generous coating of lanugo or completely bald, it takes time to see how much hair they will have as a baby and toddler. Lanugo is a brief part of their life that you may not even see in the outside world!
Reviewed by the Ovial Health Clinical Team
Read more
Sources
- N.J. Randall, K Bond, J Macaulay, Philip J Steer. “Measuring fetal and maternal temperature differentials: a probe for clinical use during labor. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, West London Hospital, UK.” Journal of Biomedical Engineering. 13(6):481-5. DOI: 10.1016/0141-5425(91)90094-N. Web. Dec-91.
- Mayo Clinic Staff. “Second trimester pregnancy: What to expect.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 5/15/2014. Web.
