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Is it OK to relax my hair while pregnant?
By Dr Sharmaine Mitchell
Monday, November 02, 2009
Dear Dr Mitchell,
I just wanted to know, is it OK to relax/process my hair while pregnant, especially during the last few days? I'm two weeks away from giving birth. Also, I wanted to know the use of the basin that the nurses ask us to bring along when coming in for delivery.
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It is perfectly safe to cream your hair at any stage during pregnancy. The chemicals used in the composition of the products used for hair relaxation are perfectly safe. It is, however, preferred if you stay away from bleaching and adding hair colours to your hair since the safety of these products have not been established in pregnancy. Now is a good time to have your hair done so that you will look good and feel good about yourself when you go into the hospital for delivery and it will give you more time to focus on your newborn baby and not have to wait long hours at the hairdresser after delivery.
The basin that the nurses require you to bring to the hospital when coming in for delivery is to do sitz bath after you have delivered. If you have a vaginal delivery, an episiotomy is sometimes done to increase the amount of space that is available to deliver the head and the shoulders of the baby. This is an incision that is made in the vagina and muscles of the pelvic floor to widen the entrance to the vagina. This will reduce the risk of damage to the brain, nerves and bones in the shoulders especially if the baby is big. It also reduces the risk of a tear that can sometimes be extensive and involve the muscles of the anus and rectum.
If there is a tear or an episiotomy is done, this is repaired immediately after delivery and sitz bath - which is really warm salt water in a shallow basin - is used to soothe the area and expedite healing. This is done twice daily for sometimes up to three weeks after delivery. It is always a good idea to take your own basin since it reduces the risk of picking up an infection by using the hospital basin. In some hospitals basins are not provided for this, so it is always easier to walk with your basin and a pound of salt.
Best wishes to you and your newborn. Have a safe delivery.
Dr Sharmaine Mitchell is an obstetrician and gynaecologist. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@ jamaicaobserver.com; mail c/o Jamaica Observer, 40-421/2 Beechwood Ave, Kingston 5; or fax to 968-2025. See responses to your questions in All Woman. We regret we cannot provide personal responses.
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