Dear Humans,

Please stop putting your hands on women’s bellies and/or asking them when they are “due.”



Scenario #1: She is not pregnant. She just happen to have a lovely, naturally round belly, is retaining water from her period, or ate a burrito that made her gassy. You’ve made things awkward.



Scenario #2: She is pregnant and you’ve just randomly felt her up. She’s probably annoyed with you, especially if you’re a stranger! If she’d like you to feel the baby, she will ask you. At a minimum, ask permission.



Scenario #3: She has a medical condition that makes her have a round belly. And a lot of times, these medical conditions are the exact same ones that prevent women from getting pregnant in the first place. So now she has to choose between explaining her personal medical history to you or awkwardly evading your rude question.



To Summarize: You should not assume that a woman is pregnant unless there is a baby trying to climb out of her vaginal canal/bursting out of her chest ala Alien.

Just ask, “What’s new?” OK? :)

PS: “When are you going to have a baby?” and/or “Why don’t you want a baby?” are equally shitty questions. Seriously, knock it off.

Photo by Jason Nelson

