Lanugo Recording -Infant

Lanugo Recording -Infant

Lanugo Recording

Summary of Recommendation and Evidence

Population

Recommendation

Grade
(What's This?)

Screening of both Genders

This screening is recommended a best practice.

B

Downy hair on the body of a fetus or newborn baby. Lanugo is the first hair to be produced by the fetal hair follicles, and it usually appears on the fetus at about 5 months of gestation. Lanugo is very fine, soft, and usually unpigmented. Although lanugo is normally shed before birth, around 7 or 8 months of gestation, it is sometimes present at birth.

Thinning occurs first over the lower back, wearing away as the fetal body curves forward into its mature, flexed position. Bald areas appear and become larger over the lumbo-sacral area. At term, most of the fetal back is devoid of lanugo, i.e., the back is mostly bald.

SIGN

PHYSICAL MATURITY SCORE

SIGN
SCORE

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5


Lanugo

none

sparse

abundant

thinning

bald areas

mostly bald

     

 

Role Of Hair On Newborn's Body

There is a definite reason for existence of body hair on newborn babies:

  • Lanugo acts as a protection on the tender skin of your baby while she is in your womb.
  • It avoids any damage that can be caused by the amniotic fluid.
  • It also holds together the vernix caseosa. A greasy wax like layer that covers your child’s skin in the womb to keep it warm and moisturized. It also helps to facilitate easy passage through the bony cervix at the time of birth.

 

So, even if it does not look so nice, this initial body hair is advantageous to your little one.

Problems Related To Newborn Baby Body Hair

In some cases body hair can be a cause for worry. This happens when the lanugo is not shed properly, and develops into more prominent hair.

  • Such condition happens when a child has congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), signifying that he or she lacks a certain enzyme.
  • CAH causes reduction or lack of production of hormone called cortisol or aldosterone.
  • This further leads to higher secretion of the male hormone androgen, which causes excessive hair growth.
  • This problem can be in male as well as female babies.
  • CAH also causes low sodium in the blood, which can lead to improper functioning of the heart.

Causes

Normal Causes

The majority of babies who are born with excessive body hair are perfectly normal in this respect and are not still growing more hair. The fine body hair that covers these infants is called lanugo and acts as a protectant in the womb. Every baby has lanugo before birth; those who are born pre-term are more likely to retain the hair as they make their way into the world. By the time most full-term babies are born, they have shed their lanugo.

Atypical Causes

Excessive hair growth in infants that is not considered typical and is cause for concern is a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH. CAH is a situation in which the baby is born without a certain enzyme that prompts hormone production. According to the National Institutes of Health's Medline Plus information service, people who have CAH don't make enough of the hormones cortisol or aldosterone. A deficiency of these hormones means the infant will make more androgens, or male hormones, whether the child is male or female. An overabundance of male hormones can lead to excessive hair growth, particularly in females. Babies who have congenital adrenal hyperplasia may also have a low blood sodium concentration, a symptom that can cause severe dehydration, heart abnormalities and shock.

Treatment

Treatment for babies who have held on to their lanugo at birth involve nothing more than waiting for the hair to shed on its own. The usual time-frame for lanugo shedding is within the first month of life. Treating CAH can be more tricky, especially in a newborn. Balancing the child's hormone levels is the goal. Synthetic hormones and steroid medications are administered every day; when the hormones measure at appropriate levels for the baby's age and gender, hair growth returns to normal.

Even though hair on newborn body is lost naturally within one to four months after birth, here are a few tricks that will hasten the process:

  • Apply olive oil on your baby’s body and massage gently twice a day.
  • Use a paste of gram flour, turmeric and milk to massage your baby before bath.
  • Make a soft dough of wheat and gram flour and rub it all over your child’s body slowly. It will help soften the roots of the hair and remove it gradually.
  • A paste of lentils and almond, mixed with milk is also a good massage recipe.

What If Body Hair Does Not Disappear?

If your baby has not shed the initial hair within a maximum period of six months, or is developing darker hair, then you must consult a doctor.

  • Because of the problems related to CAH, its timely treatment is necessary.
  • Children suffering from CAH are generally administered the required hormones externally to maintain a balance and prevent any serious condition.

For most parents, the only recourse is to wait for the hair to shed off. Once it has gone, it will be replaced by extremely fine hair, which is hardly visible.