Is that one of those oldwives’ tales? Is there a connection between heartburn and the amount of hair on your baby’s head during pregnancy, and so… as I sit there thinking it through, I took to researching it on the internet – one of those random topics that you start thinking through and need to know whether it’s real or not now. The answer may surprise you! (it did me)
One of our patients this week shared with us some photos of her beautiful baby girl comparing the amazing likeness to her 3D/4D Scan that she’d had with us. She was perfect in every way and with a full head of thick dark hair. My automatic reaction was to ask, “Did you have heartburn during your pregnancy with her?” which she confirmed as I expected, that she’d been downing Gaviscon like it was a drink, but this got me thinking.
Is that one of those oldwives’ tales? Is there a connection between heartburn and the amount of hair on your baby’s head during pregnancy, and so… as I sit there thinking it through, I took to researching it on the internet – one of those random topics that you start thinking through and need to know whether it’s real or not now.
The answer may surprise you! (it did me)
It turns out this oldwives’ tale has scientific basis. In 2006, Kathleen A. Costigan, a Nurse Clinician at Johns Hopkins Medical Institution in Baltimore, Maryland’s Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics undertook a study across 64 pregnant women. Whilst most of the participants reported some heartburn during their pregnancy, what was interesting is that 82% of those reporting severe heartburn during their pregnancy gave birth to babies with lots of hair on their head. The research found that there was a direct correlation between the amount of hair and the severity of the heartburn experienced during pregnancy which led the study to conclude that there was truth in this belief, but why?
The researchers considered this too… things don’t just happen by chance, right? The conclusion that the researchers reached was that higher levels of the pregnancy hormones oestrogen and progesterone which stimulate the growth of your baby’s hair whilst they’re growing in the womb actually causes the lower oesophageal sphincter to relax too, which turn allows stomach acid back into the oesophagus causing acid reflux (or heartburn as we all know it).
Did you also know, that during your ultrasound appointment, you can see your baby’s hair? Although your baby will start to develop tiny hair follicles on their body from around 14 weeks, it’s around 20 weeks that hair starts to sprout from these follicles. This hair will be all over their body forming lanugo, and almost looks like a fur on their body, which helps to protect their skin from the amniotic fluid that they’re grown in. The hair on their eyebrows and head may become visible on your ultrasound from as early 22 weeks onwards. This is visible in a 2D ultrasound (black and white) and not normally distinguishable in 3D/4D, even with HD iLive enabled as the strands of your baby’s hair is so fine.
