Incidence and Risk Factors for Neonatal Occipital Alopecia: A Retrospective Study

In the retrospective study conducted on 240 postpartum patients and their neonates at Chosun University Hospital between January 2006 and June 2007, it was found that neonatal occipital alopecia (NOA) occurred in 39 babies (20.2%). The study aimed to evaluate the incidence and risk factors for NOA. The results indicated that NOA was not significantly associated with factors such as the baby's sleeping position, hair volume at birth, birth weight, gender of the baby, parity, or maternal postpartum telogen effluvium. However, NOA was significantly associated with gestational age, maternal age, and delivery method. Specifically, a higher risk of NOA was observed in neonates delivered after 38 weeks' gestational age (odds ratio [OR], 3.46), in mothers younger than 36 years (OR, 3.80), and in those who did not undergo a Caesarean section (OR, 2.38). The study concluded that maternal pregnancy-related factors, rather than the baby's factors, were associated with NOA, suggesting that NOA might be a physiological condition resulting from synchronized shedding of telogen hairs initiated in utero.