It will take a while. It sucks. Breast feeding has no affect on it. It's a crappy trade off for fabulous pregnancy hair.

Send her to her stylist & they can figure out the best cut to deal with it.

Like edbikebabe says, there's no easy solution except time.

One thing that might help, if it works for her and your community enables it, is getting together with other mothers of similar-aged babies. My mothers' group was a godsend (even tho I wasn't smart enough to do it with my first child), especially since all my female relatives lived far away. We laughed our asses off, cried along with the babies, and gave each other constant reality checks about stuff like this. She'll make friends for life -- even if no-one seems compatible initially. Good luck to you both.

Not sure if this is your first baby or not so:
1) has this happened before?
2) If so, is it better, worse or the same as last time

While it May be a normal part of the changing hormones after childbirth - women often overlook signs that things in their bodies are not normal because "everyone says it will happen".
The best example of this is incontinence: IT IS NOT NORMAL, NOR OK to be incontinent after childbirth. Just because something is COMMON, does not make it NORMAL.

If it were me, I would have her OB/GYN check her thyroid levels at the next regular appointment. For sure document with her provider what is happening. The Thyroid is a very sensitive little bugger and can actually get burned out from pregnancy. This can happen on the first go around. It is important to have it monitored as thyroid levels can affect: hair, skin, emotional level, weight, pain, the list goes on!

Please know, I am not trying to be chicken little, but as a physical therapist I hear so many things that women don't tell their doctors. It is really important to have someone in the medical community hearing these things to ensure that if something needs to be checked it is.

Congrats on the baby!!

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Don't Just Live, Thrive!
Thrive Kinematics Physical Therapy - http://www.facebook.com/...8178667572974?ref=hl

Serious question. How is hair fabulous during pregnancy? The most it grows during that time is 5-6 inches. So if you have short hair okay, but still, that takes at least half your entire pregnancy to grow a head of fabulous hair, and that's if it's shorter than a bob cut. Or is it the hormones change the oils etc your scalp produces? In which case someone needs to research this and produce a product that does the same.

My hair changed completely during pregnancy. I've always had fine hair that got stringy & gross if it got longer than an inch or two above my shoulders.

During pregnancy i got more hair, it got more body & it actually grew in length. It was the first time I got to experience long hair. It was great.

Part of it is because you don't lose hair during pregnancy so it gets thicker. Hence the ridiculous shedding post-pregnancy when your hormones return to normal.

okay. The actual hair didn't change, just the quantity because you weren't losing it. Makes sense.

A company called Eufora makes a product called "Thickening scalp treatment" that my hairdresser recommended, and it really seemed to work for me:
http://www.eufora.net/...0SheetScalpTreat.pdf
I think it was $25 or so for a bottle, and one bottle was more than enough for a few months.
I would recommend that, plus time....and a creative hairdo.

Thanks for the info, and the congrats.

This is #2. She had hair loss the first time, but it seems like it's a bit more this time. I'll suggest the thyroid check.

She has taken a stool softener once or twice post-birth, but nothing that has been consistent. But I'll ask her about that too.

I had that happen after each kid. I tried not to tie it up. I'd braid it and tie the end to avoid pulling it out with the hair tie. I eventually end up getting short hair styles to avoid having to brush it much. It gets better, but definitely get the thyroid checked just in case it's something that can be fixed right now.

Postpartum Hair Loss — What Causes It
Normally, the average head loses 100 hairs a day — but not all at once, so you don't notice them. Your pregnancy hormones keep those hairs from falling out (which is why your hair looks as lush as a supermodel's, or is so thick you can barely get a brush through it). But all good things must come to an end, and that includes your awesome new 'do. When those hormones drop back to normal, the extra hairs drop, too.
Postpartum Hair Loss — What You Need to Know
Don't freak: You're not going bald, you're just getting back to normal. If you're breastfeeding, some of your extra hair may hang on to your scalp until you wean or start to supplement with formula or solids. But nursing or not, take comfort in knowing that by the time your baby is ready to blow out the candles on that first birthday cake (and has a full head of hair of his or her own, possibly), your catch-up hair loss will be finished, and your locks should be back to normal, too.
Postpartum Hair Loss — What You Can Do About It

• Keep your hair healthy by eating well and taking a prenatal vitamin supplement.
• Be extra-gentle during your shedding season to prevent excess hair loss after pregnancy. Shampoo only when necessary (Ha! As if you had time to shampoo at all!), and use a good conditioner and a wide-toothed comb to minimize tangling. Use scrunchies or barrettes to put hair up, instead of rubber bands — and don't pull hair into tight 'dos.
• Skip blow-dryers and curling and flat irons if you can (again, as if you had time to use them!), and put off any chemically based treatments (highlights, perms, straightening) until the shedding stops.
• Talk to your practitioner if your hair loss is excessive. When it's accompanied by other symptoms, hair loss after pregnancy could be a sign of postpartum thyroiditis.

The above I pulled from an online article. I lost much of my hair after pregnancy, but it didn't seem to matter at all because I have too much hair to begin with. I don't notice any difference before and after my pregnancies. Although I posted those "tips" I don't think there is much you can do to impact a change in hormones, which is what causes the gain and subsequent loss of hair.

I also think the thyroid check is important and continuing the prenatal vitamin should help. My thyroid burned out after my first pregnancy, I suffered from hair loss and a whole host of other problems. Hair grew back after thyroid was in range.