 When Meghan Markle was pregnant, people gave her a lot of flak for touching her stomach so much. I couldn't figure out at the time if she was holding her stomach more than other pregnant women do, or if they were just picking on her. I mean, the latter definitely, but maybe also the former? Regardless, I now finally understand why she and any other pregnant woman might touch their stomach so much. When I first entered my second trimester, I began starting to show, but to many people it still looked more like I was just carrying a big food baby. At nearly 22 weeks, I still think it looks like I'm just permanently walking around with a giant food baby. Less so now, but my natural reflex was to suck in even though I couldn't really suck in that much anymore. And when I was out to brunch with my family one day, I got up to go to the restroom and felt the need to hold my stomach a little, because I was afraid people would look at me and think I was just letting my gut hang out (I know, I know...no one is really paying attention to me!). Placing your hand(s) on your stomach, and rubbing it a little is like the universal sign of, "Hello, not chubby here, just growing a human."
Not to mention, as my uterus continued to grow, I felt some cramps and discomfort, and rubbing the belly really did make me and baby feel better. I don't remember if my mom ever rubbed my belly when I was sick as a kid, but now I understand why that can be very soothing. At home, I'm constantly rubbing my belly now, because it just feels good. It's also a way of communicating wit my little guy, letting him know mama's here. Another reason Meghan could’ve been touching her belly so much, is that when your belly stretches out, it makes you itchy. So maybe that was her subtle way of itching her itches. Now that she’s a duchess and all, she can’t just be itching her belly in public. Not to mention, at a certain stage, your belly probably just makes a great arm rest. I'm looking forward to that day! So there are four reasons that Meghan (or any other woman) might touch their belly an excessive amount. Maybe even after they announced their pregnancy, Meghan was just trying to remind everyone that she wasn't getting chonky, she was actually growing a human in her body. And maybe keeping her hands on her belly was soothing for her, or she was just trying to gracefully relieve the itchiness of her stretching belly. Once her belly was big enough, it probably was just a really comfy arm rest. Whatever her reasons, people in general need to back off and leave a woman's body alone. As if we aren't all trying to have better body image relationships with ourselves, especially when we're pregnant. I do still wonder though, if there is any other way to pose for a photo while pregnant without cradling the belly in some way, because based on Instagram, it feels like it’s the hand on hip pose for pregnant women. I am guilty of one under the belly cradle photo, but that was to make sure the bump was noticeable. I am going to see how many pregnant poses I can do that does not involve lovingly cradling my belly in some way...stay tuned to my Instagram or Facebook page!! Spread love and stay jawesome!
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