Stacey Solomon reveals her belly is 'covered in fur' - but why do pregnant women get hair on their baby bump?

A lot of physical changes happen to a woman’s body when she’s pregnant – and Stacey Solomon has just added to that list.

The TV star, 29, revealed in an Instagram post that she has developed a lot of hair on her tummy.

Stacey – who announced she was pregnant with boyfriend Joe Swash’s baby in February – asked her 1.4m followers for their insight.

Captioning an image of her belly “covered in fur”, she wrote: “I think I’m pregnant with a Furby.

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“I need to know… Did anyone else’s belly just suddenly become covered in fur?

“I’m not sure if you can see it but all of the grainy little lines are blonde hairs that I’ve never had before and now I’ve now started sprouting some lovely thick, wirey black ones around my belly button.”

Stacey – who is a mum to two young sons from previous relationships – continued: “I’ve always had my hair tummy snail trail which is a line of hair that practically goes from my cleavage all the way done to my hoo-ha but never an all over fuzz.

“I’m not upset by it one bit I’ve always loved my, furrier than most, body, I’m just so fascinated as to why this happens?”

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She added: “What does it mean? Is it to keep the Furby warm?

“Any incites are much appreciated (I think, as long as they’re not scary, if you have something scary to say, DON’T my anxiety can’t take it.”

The post soon generated over 87k ‘likes’ and supportive comments from her followers.

Is pregnancy bell hair normal?

It turns out that what Stacey is going through is totally normal.

According to Healthline, it’s very common for women who are having a child to develop excessive hair growth in particular areas of their body – known as hirsutism.

“Many pregnant women notice it on their stomach or other areas where they usually don’t have much hair,” they explain.

“While it might be a cosmetic annoyance, the extra hair is usually harmless and will likely go away after you give birth.”

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It is caused by a spike in a hormone called oestrogen, triggered by pregnancy, and this is why the new hair may be thicker and darker than the kind naturally on your head.

Arms, chest, face, glutes, lower back, neck, shoulders and upper back are also areas where pregnancy-related hair growth can happen.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists state that it should fade within six months of birth.

And, sadly there’s no truth to the old wives’ tale that it can help you tell whether you’re having a boy.

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