Minoxidil, Pregnancy, and Nursing

I’m a 32 year old female who is experiencing generalized thinning on the top front portion of my scalp. I had micrografting done 18 months ago and have been using minoxidil 5% topical since. I’m content with how my hair looks now, but I’m considering trying to get pregnanmt with our third child and I’m concerned that I will lose a lot of hair when I stop taking the Minoxidil. I know that woman’s hair generally thickens during pregnancy and then falls out afterward; in your experience, would my hair remain the same (or thicken) during pregnancy, or would it still fall out due to discontinuing the minoxidil? If the hair didn’t fall out and I began the minoxidil after the birth, would the extra hair stay as well? And lastly, I have heard conflicting stories about using 2% and 5% Minoxidil while nursing – is any strength ok to use? What are the effects on the child? Thanks

Although hormonal changes during pregnancy are in favor of promoting hair growth, we don’t have enough information to compare its positive effect with catch up hair loss that may occur with minoxidil withdrawal. We also don’t know whether you can hold on to the extra growth of hair with topical minoxidil.

Topical minoxidil can have systemic absorption and be secreted into the milk. It should be avoided during both pregnancy and nursing.