As Hannah Bronfman Reveals She Photoshopped Her Baby Bump, We Must Stop Commenting On Women’s Bodies

Hannah continues, “When I was pregnant with Preston, I wasn’t really showing until 27 weeks. And I was dying to let the community know I’m pregnant – I’d already shared so much about our fertility journey – and at around 24 weeks I was just getting really nervous and dying to snap some pregnancy announcement photos.

“When I looked back at the photos, there really wasn’t a belly, and I just felt like I wanted that belly so badly that I really didn’t want to announce without a belly. The belly was the symbol for me.”

Hannah then visibly tears in her eyes, and after pausing the video, she continues, “I noticed that you really couldn’t see a bump in these photos, so I photoshopped my bump to make it bigger . Anyway, it just goes to show that everyone is in a different mental state during pregnancy. So next time you want to comment on someone else’s pregnant body, just keep it to yourself.”

And it’s not just Hannah who’s experienced this kind of bump shaming. The comments are full of women sharing their similar experiences, and one woman shares, “I’ve definitely gotten my share of unsolicited comments from a lot of people and it’s made me sooo insecure about my growing body!”

Another shared her story: “This literally happened to me yesterday. I told one of the nurses at my ENT practice I would be initiated next week and in shock she told me I was “carrying fine”. I think if my (or the) baby is fine there no matter what shape my body looks like then I’ll wear fine… not because you think I look small… which is NOT a compliment. My first was stillborn and very small, my second, born live, was also small and the stress and anxiety of making sure this baby is healthy, growing and alive is not made better by the small size my belly comment. even if you probably mean it in the best sense.”

While another shared a similar experience, “When I was seven months pregnant, people kept telling me I didn’t look pregnant and it made me so scared and felt so bad because (1) I was pregnant wanted to look – it was a sign my child was growing and healthy and (2) it didn’t feel like I wasn’t pregnant. I was sore, tired and heavy. At the end of my pregnancy, the comments were to the contrary.”

It’s clear that unsolicited comments about a woman’s pregnant body can have a profound and lasting impact on her confidence and pregnancy experience — and we applaud Hannah Bronfman and all the women in the comments for speaking out. Can we all agree that it’s never okay to comment on a woman’s body, pregnant or not? And can we all make a pact to call it out next time we hear it?

Sincerely, women everywhere.