facial hair growth during pregnancy boy or girl?

"Hair growth or hirsutism in pregnancy is usually due to hormonal fluctuations — an increase in secretion of male hormones or androgens from the ovaries and placenta," Dr. Dweck confirms.

Good news for women who want a baby without a beard: Any excess hair that grows on the face, chest, abdomen, or arms, usually toward the end of the second trimester when the hormone-secreting placenta really starts to take shape, is usually temporary. It typically goes away on its own within six months of giving birth. By that point, any hair loss from the head (an even more annoying side effect that can affect new moms in the three months following pregnancy) should resolve itself too.

That said, Dr. Dweck warns that excessive hair growth in odd places can be a permanent condition among some women, like Adele, whose beard has been growing strong for more than three years. And it's not always related to pregnancy, which is why it's worth getting checked out by a physician or endocrinologist if hair growth persists long after pregnancy or occurs when there's no baby in tow.

While the condition could be hereditary, there are so many other conditions besides pregnancy that can mess with your hormones and trigger hair growth, and every pregnancy is different, so hair growth could have something to do with whether you're carrying a girl, boy, or multiples. Again, experts just don't know.

What they do know: Acne is a sign of a hormonal imbalance, so people who deal with it — or any other conditions linked to a hormonal imbalance — before getting pregnant could be more prone to excess hair growth during pregnancy. And in terms of predicting permanency, Dr. Dweck says peach fuzz is more likely to go away than coarse, deep-rooted hairs.

While sprouting a beard might seem apocalyptic, kudos to Adele for going public with her facial hair — and reminding women everywhere that it's totally normal