One of the perks of being pregnant is being able to share your joy with the people in your life, and feeling special as you nurture and grow the little life inside your belly.
Unfortunately, the downside of that is that the people you share your joy with often tend to share right back… often in the form of unsolicited, cringe-worthy opinions and advice.
We asked mums the most awkward and uncomfortable things people said to them while pregnant and the responses were equally hilarious and appalling.
Pass this list on to your friends and family as a warning on what NOT to say:
Don’t comment on the size of her bump
I hated getting the size comments. Being told I was huge wasn’t as bad as being told that I was tiny, it belittled my own feelings of knowing how big I was especially when I was unable to manage certain things due to my tummy size. – Lena
“You don’t really look pregnant.” As a bigger person that just meant I looked fat. In my third trimester, lots of people commented that I only had a small bump which made me sad because I’d been looking forward to having a bump for so long. – Melanie
“You’re really huge!” and “Was it planned?” – Zoe
Someone said to me that my bump was a weird shape and didn’t look normal. Ok, cool, thanks. – Greta
Don’t comment on the rest of her body either
I bet your husband really loves it now that you have boobs, you never had them before you were pregnant. – Tammy
That’s great you haven’t put on weight (because of nausea). – Jamie
People said I was glowing when actually the hormones gave me pregnancy acne! – Stephanie
Quite a few months into my pregnancy when I was showing off my bump, a colleague at work said “I can’t believe you’re pregnant as you’ve always been big so it’s hard to tell”. – Deanne
People would say I hadn’t put on any weight and I just thought man, did I look really big before? I had put on at least 10kg at the time! – Jade
Don’t scare her
Just wait until you you need a hand mirror to shave your lady bits. – Mary
Usually their stories of how long they were in labour and much they tore down there! – Noelle
“You are tiny” which made me worry about my baby and if I was doing the right thing. Also people saying your life is over. – Caitlin
When I announced it to my mum her first question was “Was it planned?” People constantly liked to tell you how awful it would be, how you would never sleep again etc. – Nina
Get all your sleep in because when the baby comes… – Jen
Just don’t be an asshole in general
I overheard someone talking about the fact that I was buying chocolates, ice cream, etc at the shops and commented on my weight… I was 32 weeks pregnant and had just lost a family member! – Sam
Asked if I was having twins (I wasn’t); that I looked ready to pop (I was only 6 months pregnant); that it would be hard to lose the pregnancy weight. – Gemma
I was pregnant because I clearly had a lot of sex. – Natasha
Someone told me to reconsider having kids while in a coffee shop. I was 6 months pregnant… – Charlotte
I walked into work and the old school lady said ‘Good morning fatty’! Wtf! Think she was just trying to tell me I had popped. A lot of people told me I was gonna be horrible in labour because I am a planner and like order. – Belle
They didn’t think women at my age should be having children (I was 42 when I had my son and 43 when I had my daughter). – Liz
Even if you’re trying to say the right thing, chances are you’re not
You can always get pregnant again, keep trying. – Katie
You look like a big beautiful sunflower (8 months pregnant wearing a yellow dress). I asked if there was a need for the “big” description. – Stephanie
“What a cute waddle you’ve got going now” my co-workers said this to me one day when I was about 8 months pregnant and even got me a card with a penguin on it when I went on maternity leave. I think they thought they were being funny/cute… it was not cute. – Anya
Share this list with a pregnant mama who needs a laugh!
