Why is my newborn baby's body so hairy?
Lots of mums on our forum have wondered about the hair on their baby's shoulders, back and even ears...
New babies differ when it comes to the hair stakes. Some have loads on their head, some have none - but what about on the rest of their body?
It's a question that's puzzled a fair few new mums out there...
What our mums 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?" mrs ward on our forum tells us.
Ears? Yep, and it doesn't stop there, as Donk 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 Twitter) 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."
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Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
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