Heartburn and hair

mattandlynda · September 2014

Was this true for others? If you had heartburn, did your baby have a lot if hair? It was true for my first.

Wondering if it's a myth!

lewispm · September 2014

It's definitely a myth, but these things have a way of being true 50% of the time

And I had practically no heartburn with my son and he was born with a surprisingly full head of hair. My sister had major heartburn and her daughter was completely bald.

Unknown · September 2014

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lamama3 · September 2014

True for my first two! My daughter I had zero heartburn and she was as bald as as bald can be. My son, I had heartburn all day every day and he was born with a full head of hair. This one I have heartburn off and on, so we shall see in 6 months! Either way it's 50/50

bumpuser2452272 · September 2014

My son had a full head of hair and no heart burn for me

071115 · September 2014

Definite myth... Both my kids had a full head of hair and no heart burn!

malijo1025 · September 2014

It was true for me but is definitely a myth. I was on prescription heartburn medication because I was going through so many tums a day. My daughter was born with a full head of black hair.

starsailorr26 · September 2014

I think it's a myth. My DD was born with a full head of black hair and I had heartburn all the time, but it still sounds like it's not always true for everyone.

homegrown2 · September 2014

Definitely a myth for me. I had horrible heartburn the entire time with DD and she had almost no hair. At almost a year old, she still has very little hair :P

stine28 · September 2014

Of course it's a myth. How could the presence or absence of hair on a developing baby, inside a geatational sac, inside your uterus, possibly affect your indigestion?

kellbell1982 · September 2014

My D had a full head of black hair and I suffered horrible heartburn to the point where I needed prescription Meds and it seems to be starting again

chaysefaith · September 2014

It's definitely just and OWT but FWIW it was true with my both of my girls

stine28 · September 2014

chrain said:
Actually, science has shown that there may be a connection. Here is one conclusion:

Pregnancy folklore revisited: the case of heartburn and hair.
Costigan KA1, Sipsma HL, DiPietro JA.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Folklore can originate by detection of actual associations between seemingly unrelated events and perpetuated through oral tradition. The objective of this study was to determine whether a common pregnancy belief that women who experience a lot of heartburn give birth to newborns with a lot of hair is accurate.
METHODS:
Sixty-four pregnant women ranked the severity of their degree of heartburn during pregnancy. Independent coders rated newborn hair volume using 2 photographs of the infant's head, taken shortly after birth.
RESULTS:
Most (78%) women reported some degree of heartburn. Symptom severity was unrelated to fetal sex and maternal characteristics including parity, age, or weight. The simple linear relationship between heartburn severity and hair volume was significant r(s)(62) = 0.40, p < 0.001. Categorical analysis by severity score and hair ranking revealed a similar association (chi(2)= 23.93, p < 0.05). Most (23/28) women who reported moderate or severe heartburn gave birth to babies with average or above average amounts of hair, and conversely, most (10/12) women reporting no heartburn had babies with less than average or no hair.
CONCLUSIONS:
Contrary to expectations, it appears that an association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair does exist. We propose a shared biologic mechanism involving a dual role of pregnancy hormones in both the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter and the modulation of fetal hair growth.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17150070

And
https://www.pregnancymagazine.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/does-having-heartburn-during-pregnancy-mean-your-baby-has-a-lot-of-hair

That doesn't mean it's a rule. It means that there is a correlation.

stine28 said:

Of course it's a myth. How could the presence or absence of hair on a developing baby, inside a geatational sac, inside your uterus, possibly affect your indigestion?

I wouldn't say "of course" - in these studies they show that there is a link with the hormone that causes hair growth and esophageal relaxation (causing heartburn). And not, as the old wives tales suggests, the hair tickling anything.

Ok, I'll take back the "of course". But you've quoted one very small study. Very small. And an article that talks about the same study. I would not say that the correlation necessarily exists. It could be an artifact of bias in the study, or the small sample size. More study would be required to be sure.

mangomimosa · September 2014

@chrain thank you - was just coming here to post that. It makes sense physiologically & the study was well designed. One study is not proof, but I would not confidently say it's just a myth!

MissyCee · September 2014

Definitely myth. DD has a full head of hair and I didn't have any heartburn with her.

Haps92907 · September 2014

With my first I had terrible heartburn, and she didn't have hair until she was 2 years old!

stine28 · September 2014

chrain said:

stine28 said:

chrain said:
Actually, science has shown that there may be a connection. Here is one conclusion:

Pregnancy folklore revisited: the case of heartburn and hair.
Costigan KA1, Sipsma HL, DiPietro JA.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Folklore can originate by detection of actual associations between seemingly unrelated events and perpetuated through oral tradition. The objective of this study was to determine whether a common pregnancy belief that women who experience a lot of heartburn give birth to newborns with a lot of hair is accurate.
METHODS:
Sixty-four pregnant women ranked the severity of their degree of heartburn during pregnancy. Independent coders rated newborn hair volume using 2 photographs of the infant's head, taken shortly after birth.
RESULTS:
Most (78%) women reported some degree of heartburn. Symptom severity was unrelated to fetal sex and maternal characteristics including parity, age, or weight. The simple linear relationship between heartburn severity and hair volume was significant r(s)(62) = 0.40, p < 0.001. Categorical analysis by severity score and hair ranking revealed a similar association (chi(2)= 23.93, p < 0.05). Most (23/28) women who reported moderate or severe heartburn gave birth to babies with average or above average amounts of hair, and conversely, most (10/12) women reporting no heartburn had babies with less than average or no hair.
CONCLUSIONS:
Contrary to expectations, it appears that an association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair does exist. We propose a shared biologic mechanism involving a dual role of pregnancy hormones in both the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter and the modulation of fetal hair growth.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17150070

And
https://www.pregnancymagazine.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/does-having-heartburn-during-pregnancy-mean-your-baby-has-a-lot-of-hair

That doesn't mean it's a rule. It means that there is a correlation.

stine28 said:

Of course it's a myth. How could the presence or absence of hair on a developing baby, inside a geatational sac, inside your uterus, possibly affect your indigestion?

I wouldn't say "of course" - in these studies they show that there is a link with the hormone that causes hair growth and esophageal relaxation (causing heartburn). And not, as the old wives tales suggests, the hair tickling anything.
Ok, I'll take back the "of course". But you've quoted one very small study. Very small. And an article that talks about the same study. I would not say that the correlation necessarily exists. It could be an artifact of bias in the study, or the small sample size. More study would be required to be sure.

I would agree that we need more information about this but your initial post asked how a baby in a gestational sac, inside your uterus could affect indigestion. I was responding with, they found that there may be a link with the hormone that grows hair and affects your esophageal sphincter. I just think that it's something to consider. Meanwhile, my friend had horrid heartburn and her 13 month old is still bald.

Pregnancy is weird.

---just assuming quote box fail---

No, you're right. I should have googled first, and was surprised that any link was found at all. Bad science is one of my pet peeves and sometimes I jump too quickly on the skeptic bandwagon.

Also I think I learned today that I shouldn't comment while I'm checking other people's work at work. I get growly at the laziness and mistakes. Need to keep those feelings on the inside....

bdazzld · September 2014

Myth I believe--but even doctor's spout this to Mom's sometimes...

mangomimosa · September 2014

@bdazzld‌ yes because there IS some evidence to support it. Read above.

FrecklesInside · September 2014

Mu daughter was balllllld and I had horrendously awful heartburn. She had practically no hair until she turned one and now at nearly a year and a half still has very little...

052806 · September 2014

I'm hairy, and I have heartburn... oh wait, was that not the question?

bdazzld · September 2014

mangomimosa said:

@bdazzld‌ yes because there IS some evidence to support it. Read above.

Noted that there is some correlation, I was more saying that they state it as fact. My friend's son had a full head of hair, she had very mild heartburn occasionally, lots of women with horrendous heartburn, bald babies. I feel it needs further study

chocolateandwine · September 2014

It's a myth, BUT I did have mild heartburn and my kid had a full head of hair.

maisonduchoco2 · September 2014

Myth. I had zero heartburn with DS and he came out with a full head of hair.

cesquer · September 2014

Myth. But if it happens to be true, I am giving birth to a baby gorilla. It's that bad.

orangesprinkles13 · September 2014

I had horrible heart burn, DD came out with alittle peach fuzz.

thejucheidea · September 2014

cesquer said:

Myth. But if it happens to be true, I am giving birth to a baby gorilla. It's that bad.

Fucking same. This baby will be Chewbacca.

pitmanfamily · September 2014

Definitely a myth. I had heartburn like crazy and my daughter who is now 15 months is still borderline bald! (I added her pic for an idea) Runs in my family and my husbands. I had little to no hair until I was 2...even then it was short. Now my hair is insanely thick and long when I let it grow.

caribeth80 · September 2014

I had horrible heart burn with my first born and he had lots of hair! So the myth was true for me!

finallyourturn2 · September 2014

There is science behind it, and I hope it holds true for me. I have had heart burn since a few days before my positive test. I am hoping for one of the two to be a girl with a fully head of hair. We have the Hispanic genes on our side too.

Unknown · September 2014

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djoliet · September 2014

Not for me. I never had heartburn and my son came out with a head full of hair

genmccarley · September 2014

I had some heartburn at the end of pregnancy and my son was bald for a year. I'm gonna say that it was just mostly related to the fact that it gets squished in there causing pressure on that sphincter.

Shellyhume · September 2014

Totally true for me. Son was bald, no heartburn. Both daughters were hairy little apes and my heartburn was inextinguishable.

nkurtz3 · September 2014

There is truth to the myth what ever chemicals make hair grow also give heartburn, you can look it up. My first I had mild and he had some hair and my second I was dying from it and he had a ton!