A photo of Australian fitness model Chontel Duncan and her friend, Natalie Smith, who are just 5 weeks apart in their pregnancy has gone viral. Duncan shared the photo so her fans could see that every woman’s pregnancy is different and each carry in their own unique way.
“An[d] this is where it all began… Two ladies 4-5weeks apart in their pregnancies, both super happy & healthy, loving their journeys, embracing the changes & proud to share their growing bumps! #pregnant #expectingmums #happiness #babybumps #growing @hiit_australia @bph_14” Duncan captioned the Instagram photo.
The photo went viral last week with commenters and readers using it to rail against bump bullying. Yes “baby bump bullying” is a thing. It is where people online (or in person) chide women for the size of their bumps. Usually, a person insinuates the belly is so big that she may be carrying twins or ask if a woman is further along in her pregnancy than she is based on what they perceive is a huge belly. A lot of it is well-meaning, but still, it can be insulting and hurtful.
With the new attention to her page because of the viral photo, Duncan has since had to deal with criticism about photos of her rigorous workouts during her s second trimester.
The Queensland fitness fanatic said she has decided to use the extra attention to show others how active pregnancy can be.
She told TODAY show: “Once it became clear to me how foreign it was to see a pregnancy performed like mine, it did get me thinking. Maybe I should continue to document my pregnant because it seems that we are misled to believe that we are more fragile than we really are.”
The common advice from doctors is that you can be as active as you were before pregnant with some modifications and after consultation with a doctor.