Lanugo

Just like any parent-to-be, you'll be anticipating the birth of your baby with great excitement. There's no doubt you'll be getting a few warnings about some of the harder parts you might be in for with your newborn, including sleepless nights, feeding sessions that never end and the first of many thousands of nappy changes that you'll be signing up for.

Yet what you might not be expecting is that your adorable little bundle of joy might arrive in the world with a fine covering of hair. This is actually the case with many babies and it often comes as something of a shock to the proud parents.

A hairy baby

Lanugo is the correct term for this occurrence. It comes from the Latin word which means down. Lanugo is a soft downy sort of hair and is especially common on babies that are born prematurely, although it can often appear on babies that have been born full term as well.

Lanugo first appears on the baby inside the uterus at about five months' gestation. It's thought that it helps to keep the baby warm and maintain a healthy body temperature. Developing babies don't have much in the way of fat stores, and this is one way of nature compensating for that.

Further on in your pregnancy, between 36 weeks and full term, the lanugo hair is usually replaced by vellus hair. This is the short, colourless and barely noticeable fine hair that covers most of the human body.

It is believed that lanugo hair shed by the baby inside the uterus is ingested and then becomes part of their first bowel movements or meconium after they have been born.

If your baby is born with lanugo, it may be present on the whole body except for the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, their lips, penis if a boy, nails and sides of their fingers and toes. In girl babies it will be present on the genitals.

Although it may be a little strange to think of your baby covered in hair, it is absolutely nothing to worry about. There's no detrimental effect to the baby and you can be reassured that the fine hair will fall out of its own accord. It may be a few days, weeks or months before it has disappeared, but you should have no doubt at all that it will go eventually.