Why is my newborn baby's body so hairy?

What mums in our MadeForMums community have said

"Annabelle is now 1 week old and I was looking at her earlier and she has really hairy ears, bless her! I was just wondering if your little ones had hairy ears when they were so young?" Amy, a member of our MadeForMums community tells us.

Ears? Yep, and it doesn't stop there, as fellow MadeForMums community member Olivia reveals: "Both my little girls were born with a mop of dark brown hair and had hair on their ears and even a little bit on their shoulders (sounds awful doesn't it!)."

So, what is all this extra hair and why is it there? When will it go — and, perhaps most importantly, is there any need to try to get rid of it?

What the experts say

We asked Dr Philippa Kaye (find her on X) who told us this:

"All babies in the womb are covered with a fine downy layer of hair called lanugo, it helps keep them warm!

"In some babies this is shed before birth but in others it can take a few weeks or months to disappear, it is more likely to be visible in babies with darker skin.

"It is normal and does not need removing, it will be shed in time so don’t rub the skin to try to remove it as this is more likely to lead to skin irritation."

Read more:

• Will my baby's stork marks disappear?
• Is it normal for by newborn's poo to change colour?
• What size baby grows should I buy for my newborn?