Your baby is born! And what a surprise to see his body covered in fine hair … This is called lanugo. Wondering if this fine down will fall off or stay and why your baby was born hairy? We will explain everything to you.
What is lanugo?
Looking forward to finally meeting your child, as childbirth approaches you can imagine him already plump with soft and smooth skin. But your little one comes into the world with his body covered in a light down. Is this normal? Yes, there is no need to worry. It is lanugo, a very fine down that appears in the fetus from the third month of pregnancy. The word comes from the Latin “lana”Which means wool. This delicate down most often covers the cheeks, forehead, shoulders and back of the ears. Sometimes these fluffy hairs spread over the arms and legs.
This little down has its uses: it plays a thermal insulating role in the baby. And just like the vernix caseosa (a whitish and oily substance that covers the skin of the newborn), lanugo forms a protective barrier between the skin and the amniotic fluid in utero.
When does the lanugo disappear?
In most babies, the hairs that make up lanugo shed very late in pregnancy. This is why many newborns are born without down on their body. Lanugo can persist at birth, especially in premature babies, who by definition are born prematurely and whose down has not had time to disappear. Lanugo can still be present in full-term babies. Rest assured, there is nothing wrong with this. These tiny hairs usually disappear during the first few weeks (or at most first months) of an infant's life, just like their first hair. The friction of the clothes helps to make them fall. So don't try to cut them yourself with scissors!
The presence of lanugo in a full term baby is also not a warning sign of abnormal hair growth in adolescence and adulthood.
Lanugo is not to be confused with hypertrichosis or hirsutism
If your baby is born with long, thick, and rather dark hair, and it does not go away after a few weeks, it is not lanugo but more likely hypertrichosis or hirsutism. In hypertrichosis, the hair covers the whole body. In hirsutism, the hair is mostly found on the genitals or armpits. In question, disorders related to hormonal abnormalities. In this case, it is better to consult a doctor to confirm this diagnosis.
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