Mom Is Told She Must Be Expecting a Horse Because of Her Baby Bump's Size

When an Aussie mom shared a photo of her baby bump on social media after conceiving her second child, she received massive backlash. Netizens bullied her because of the unusual size of her baby bump.

Having a baby is one of the most memorable experiences of a woman's life, especially if she had been looking forward to building her family. The woman does everything her doctor suggests to ensure she experiences a smooth, complication-free pregnancy.

While a woman's body goes through physical changes during pregnancy, she feels insecure about her looks. Fortunately, most friends and family support the pregnant mommy except for a few people who pass disgusting comments and bully the mother if they feel her baby bump doesn't appear to be according to their expectations.

THE HAPPY MOMMY

30-year-old Elisha Bakes was over the moon when she discovered she was pregnant again in 2018. She lived with her partner, Tane, and an almost-two-year-old son, Kyson, in their house located in Melbourne, Australia.

When she turned 14 weeks, she decided to share her happiness with her 32,700 followers on Instagram, expecting them to send good wishes.

However, things took a different turn when she shared her photo on Instagram. Instead of praising her and sending good wishes, her followers posted mean comments.

HOW MEAN THE COMMENTS GOT

People on Instagram believed Bakes' baby bump was too big. They thought she was more than 14-weeks pregnant and asked her to tell them the correct dates. Some people even said Bakes must be eating unhealthy for her tummy to be looking more prominent.

Instead of bashing her bullies, Bakes explained why she had a huge baby bump.

At first, Bakes wasn't bothered. She posted more pictures of herself as her pregnancy progressed and noticed that people's comments had started getting worse. They said mean things she never expected.

As Bakes posted more photos of herself, people wondered why her belly looked more prominent than usual. They were sure something was wrong with her pregnancy and said they had never seen such a big baby bump.

According to Bakes, people on Instagram said it looked like she had "78 babies" inside her or she would give birth to a horse. Some people also said her baby bump looked "gross" and posted rude comments that disturbed Bakes. She recalled:

"When I was six months along, I would often get asked if I was due to pop any day. I would get a very surprised reaction when I let them know I was only 24 weeks."

HER RESPONSE

Instead of bashing her bullies, Bakes explained why she had a huge baby bump. She said she had more fluid in her body, and her 5-feet 3-inches height made her belly look prominent because of her relatively smaller frame.

However, despite responding to the mean comments, Bakes still didn't feel better. She constantly worried about her belly and even asked other mothers if they had experienced something similar. Bakes recounted what the majority of the women told her:

"They told me how they would get very anxious about people commenting on their bump and would make them feel very insecure and not be able to enjoy their pregnancy."

ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM

Reading people's comments and the messages sent by mothers made Bakes realize that people frequently made pregnant women feel uncomfortable. She felt that if a woman's baby bump wasn't according to the standards people had set in their minds, they believed it was their duty to pass a comment.

The bullying wasn't only restricted to women with prominent bumps. Moms who didn't have a big baby bump also faced criticism because their belly wasn't protruding enough. Bakes said:

"The comments were always worse online. I would receive many nice compliments from women when I was out shopping or something."

GIVING BIRTH

In 2019, Bakes gave birth to a healthy baby boy named "Kaelen," but people were displeased when they saw his photo. When she posted a photo of her newborn son on Instagram, people frowned after knowing his weight.

Bakes felt people expected her son to be huge because of her prominent baby bump. They were shocked to know that her son had an average body weight at birth.

After all that Bakes went through, she made it her mission to raise awareness so people didn't make pregnant women feel ashamed of their baby bumps. She claimed women messaged her afterward, saying she boosted their confidence.

What would you do if people commented about your body weight or similar things? Do you have thick skin, or do such comments easily affect you?

Click here to read another story about a woman who became a mother to babies born twelve weeks apart after struggling with infertility for years.