These are what more real baby bumps look like
No two pregnant bellies are the same, but the one thing most women seem to have in common is plenty of people willing to comment on their growing forms. We called for your baby bump pictures to show the world how expectant mums come in all shapes and sizes. We showed you our first batch of wonderful pregnant bellies last week, but so many of you replied, we just had to run a second instalment. Did yours make the list?
This show of bump pride is a positive way to response the shaming of Gold Coast fitness fanatic and midwife Hannah Polites, who posted a baby bump pic and was met with a barrage of abusive comments.
Close to 500 of our amazing Babyology readers shared with us their pregnant belly pictures and the surprising, sweet and sometimes quite rude comments their bumps attracted.
Sinead Mulcahy Cotter, 18 weeks
“That I showed really early (it’s a lot of bloating as well, I’m bigger towards the end of the day).”
Ashley Wright, 20 weeks
“People asked where it was!! Under clothes, my bump was barely visible and it wasn’t until six months people noticed. I had only smiles and received lovely comments when my bump popped. My little girl was healthy and so was I, that’s all that mattered to me.”
Furie Chatham, 20 weeks
“You don’t look like you’re pregnant. You should eat more. Your baby will be small.”
Michelle Marchewka, 24 weeks
“You sure you haven’t just eaten too much? Where’s the baby? You’re so small!”
Emilie Westerman, 25 weeks
“People constantly ask if I’m carrying twins. When I assure them that I am only pregnant with one, they often respond, ‘are you sure?! You are huge!’ Yes I’m sure… I’ve had multiple scans. Then they still look at me like I’m trying to fool them. Even complete strangers!”
Skye Renfors, 25 weeks
“Mostly, ‘gosh you are ALL baby!’ and ‘Are you sure there’s only one in there?’ which is just as hurtful as ‘too small!’ There was also a lot of ‘What are you still doing at work? You must be ready to pop!’ from 20 weeks.”
Kayla Wilcox, 27 weeks
“Everyone said I was way to small. That I should be a lot bigger than I was. My son came out bigger than normal!”
Tanya Johnson, 28 weeks
“People say I’m huge and look like I’m ready to pop. It’s so overwhelming when that is all you hear, it’s like you’re doing something wrong because you carry heavier than other people. All you can do is laugh it off and thank them as if it is a compliment.”
Julie Rowe, 32 weeks
“I was pushing out my stomach to appear bigger for this photo (haha!) but I measured small the whole way through – you couldn’t tell from behind that I was pregnant and my obstetrician repeatedly requested growth scans during the final two months as I physically measured small. At this point I was measuring 24 weeks even though I was actually 32 weeks pregnant. I gave birth at 39 weeks and to their surprise she was over 8lb and 52cm long!”
Miranda Hausman, 32 weeks
“When people asked me how far along I was they were always so shocked when I told them. When someone asked me when I was due a week before my due date they were like ‘oh my god are you serious?!’”
Ashleigh Ritchie, 33 weeks
“They told me I was too small! I’m a small person anyway but for how far along I was, it apparently wasn’t big enough..My bub was born two weeks later, tiny but perfectly healthy!!”
Katie Elfar, 33 weeks
“I was only 25 at the time, so I didn’t have any friends to compare my bump with but my obstetrician and lots of strangers always commented how tiny I was. I even wore my size 8 jeans to the hospital to give birth! I look back on these photos now and laugh how small I was!”
Janine Smith, 33 weeks
“That I was HUGE!”
Elana Mullaly, 35 weeks
“People would love to tell me how huge my baby was going to be, he measured in the 50th percentile throughout my entire pregnancy and was born a nice 3.33kg.”
Natassia Latrou, 36 weeks
“Some people would say that I was really big and others would say ‘wow, you look fantastic. Healthy!’ Compared to my first pregnancy I was massive.”
Cler Faraone, 36 weeks
“I am a petite girl and my bump grew bigger towards the end of the pregnancy. My baby was born at 39 weeks 54cm and 3.5kg, much bigger than expected, as the bump was not super huge! People were shocked!”
Lia Buckett, 37 weeks
“I often got told how large my bump was, but I was quite small everywhere else so I guess it stood out quite a bit!”
Amanda Fernandez, 38 weeks
“‘Your belly is so big! Are you sure you’re not having twins?! You aren’t going to make it to your due date. You need to prepare for a premie. You must be so miserable with such a big belly. Your baby is going to be huge!'”
Tegan Fleet, 38 weeks
“People said I was too small. I am 6 foot tall and I have a long torso therefore there was more room in my belly for my little man so he didn’t need to stick out so much.”
Sarah Roy, 38 weeks
“People said I was HUGE… people at work bet on how big he would be. He was born by emergency c-section and was a small 6lbs 11oz. I think I was mostly liquid haha. I was shocked when they told me how small he was. In total I put on 8kg throughout my pregnancy and 3kg of that was baby.”
Lisa Bright, 38 weeks
“No one was rude enough to comment on it at all – although I did get a couple of ‘what, you’re pregnant?!’ remarks.”
Shaiye Young, 38 weeks
“A lot of people were in awe of my lack of size but the general consensus was a negative opinion. My pregnancy was uncomfortable for me personally because I never showed until the end and I was constantly having to reassure people that I was healthy. Everyone needs to stop body shaming and just step back and appreciate what a beautiful thing it is that their bodies are capable of!”
Mel Stankevicius, 39 weeks
“‘You’re carrying high, that means it’s a girl! You’re carrying high, that means it’s a boy! You’re so tiny!’ Seriously?! This felt huge!!”
Danni Jefferies, 40 weeks
“‘Are you sure it’s only one?’ and ‘might want to lay off the cake!'”
Thank you again to everyone who sent in their beautiful baby bump pictures. And remember, no matter what your shape, no matter what your bump size, carrying a baby is as real as it gets!
Just in case you missed it, be sure to check out part one of our baby bump celebrations.
