# Newborn baby born with hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758 "2016-02-22T00:29:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/41 "2016-02-22T20:08:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Interesting. I had no idea this was even possible. (But I would consider 1 in 2000 as qualifying as “rare.”) There were 120, 457 live births in NYC in 2013. Based on the 1:2000 stat, that would mean 60 cases in NYC _alone_. Uncommon, sure, but I’d agree that doesn’t count as rare. As they say- if you’re one in a million, there are eight of you in New York. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/42 "2016-02-22T20:13:28Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > There were 120, 457 live births in NYC in 2013. Based on the 1:2000 stat, that would mean 60 cases in NYC _alone_. Uncommon, sure, but I’d agree that doesn’t count as rare. > > As they say- if you’re one in a million, there are eight of you in New York. 🙂 I guess that depends on what one’s threshold for “rare” is. To me, that’s rare. Only 60 in a city as big as New York? Yeah. Rare. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/43 "2016-02-22T20:25:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I guess that depends on what one’s threshold for “rare” is. To me, that’s rare. Only 60 in a city as big as New York? Yeah. Rare. FWIW, “rare diseases” as defined by the Federal government to give a disease Orphan status in drug development, affect 1:200,000 people. But you’re absolutely right that rare is a subjective term, so I’m certainly not trying to say your perspective is wrong. It’s just interesting to me how rare rare can really be, and how often strange things really do happen! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/44 "2016-02-22T20:27:15Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > FWIW, “rare diseases” as defined by the Federal government to give a disease Orphan status in drug development, affect 1:200,000 people. But you’re absolutely right that rare is a subjective term, so I’m certainly not trying to say your perspective is wrong. It’s just interesting to me how rare rare can really be, and how often strange things really do happen! Thanks for the info. I was actually curious if there was some sort of clinical definition of “rare.” Looks like there is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/45 "2016-02-22T20:46:31Z")
Newborns with hair are common. Even newborns with teeth are far from unheard of. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/46 "2016-02-22T21:04:03Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If memory serves, newborn hair typically falls out and leaves the baby bald sometime after birth, right? Permanent hair then grows in like it does on a baby who was born bald? Yep, this happened with my daughter. She was born with a decent amount of hair, and then … I’m not sure if it fell out in a hormonal sense, but between wearing hats and sleeping with her head on a nursing pillow and so on, she lost a lot of hair, mostly due to friction from what I could tell. She was never actually completely bald, but her hair was finer and sparser so she looked about on par with babies who had been born bald, and were just starting to get their first growth in. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/47 "2016-02-22T23:03:55Z")
I have two daughters from 2 different moms. Both blonde like me. My first daughter had barely any hair at birth, my younger daughter had a pretty full head of hair. Apparently my (current) wife has that sort of thing in her family, and she was born with a full head of hair. Anecdotally I would say there’s a genetic factor in this. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/48 "2016-02-23T00:12:44Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Both the Ivykids were born with full heads of hair. > > And I know it’s an old wives’ tale, but yes, I had horrible heartburn all throughout both pregnancies. So did I, with both my baldies 🙂 Morning sickness, too. I mean, there’s a bit of fuzz there, but no where near enough to justify the months of heartburn I endured. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/49 "2016-02-23T16:38:30Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Newborns with hair are common. > > Even newborns with teeth are far from unheard of. My son was born with a wig and dentures. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/50 "2016-02-23T16:44:42Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If memory serves, newborn hair typically falls out and leaves the baby bald sometime after birth, right? Permanent hair then grows in like it does on a baby who was born bald? That can happen, generally the hair their born with isn’t an indication of their final hair color. All of my babies were born hairy and kept their hair but it lightened as they grew. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/51 "2016-02-23T17:08:56Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > My son was born with a wig and dentures. Progeria? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/52 "2016-02-27T02:18:39Z")
I saw a baby boy who looked exactly like he had male pattern baldness - thick hair on the sides and back, nothing up top. Apparently he was born with a full head of hair, and then it started falling out to be replaced by the peach fuzz many babies have. Both of my kids had just the peach fuzz - I mean, visible hair but not much, and fairly short. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/53 "2016-02-27T10:12:44Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > There is even an old wive’s tale that mothers-to-be have more morning sickness from babies born with lots of hair - which I seriously doubt has any validity at all, but my point is that hairy babies are common enough to have generated such a myth. I had morning sickness till the day my daughter was born. She had what looked like an enormous wig, with 2 inches of hair or more. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If memory serves, newborn hair typically falls out and leaves the baby bald sometime after birth, right? Permanent hair then grows in like it does on a baby who was born bald? Not mine. She still has an enormous amount of hair, and very long to boot. > [@WhyNot](#): > > Often, but not always. What’s funny is that it often comes in a different color, and sometimes grows a different color even if it doesn’t fall out! One of my goddaughters had pigtails that looked like they’d been dipped in an inkwell, because her hair at birth was black, then grew blonde! It happened to my daughter. She was born with straight, jet black hair, it then changed to blonde ringlets without falling, which made her look like she had a lousy salon job. It eventually grew straight light brown with blonde highlights, still without falling. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/54 "2016-02-27T13:04:30Z")
Mine was born pretty much furry all over. (He was 5 weeks early.) Eta - he did have it fall out eventually (er, on his head too) and come back in eventually. But for a while he looked like a little tax attorney. “Mom, your receipts are a mess. Also, you should diversify your portfolio and invest more in boobs.” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758/55 "2016-02-27T16:57:53Z")
My parents tell me I was born with a mohawk. Big stripe of hair down the center, nothing on the sides. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newborn-baby-born-with-hair/746758.md?page=2)