The Tribune

By BIANCA CARTER

EVERYONE knows that pregnant women can be a bit touchy, but in their defence, they do have a very good reason – pregnancy hormones. For some, those pesky hormones make you feel like a 15-year-old adolescent, up and down just like a roller coaster. Nevertheless, there are some things you should think about before saying to a pregnant woman. Here are the top things you should never say or do to a pregnant woman.

1 Never make comments about how big she looks. Things like, “Are you having twins?” and “I can’t believe there’s only one in there,” are not what she wants to hear at that moment.

Chances are she’s probably already thinking about how she looks, and may not be as comfortable as she should be in her new body.

2 Don’t assume you can just rub her belly. I’m going to be totally honest with you; most women don’t like strangers touching their belly where their precious unborn child is developing. Can you really blame them? Pregnant women get poked and prodded all the time, and it’s not a whole lot of fun.

3 Most men probably already know this, but you’re not going to win an argument with a pregnant lady, so don’t even try. She’s going through so many changes, both physically and emotionally. There are going to be things that bother her that never did before, smells that she loved that she can’t stand anymore, and yes, that includes your cologne. Don’t sweat the small stuff; just try to be as understanding as you can until things change. She won’t always hate your cologne.

4 Don’t judge her or try to change her mind on her birth plan. If she has decided to give birth naturally with no pain medicine, it’s probably not best to say, “oh, just wait, you’ll change your mind.” In whatever manner she decides to have her baby, respect it and commend her anyway.

5 Save your tips for how to get back on track and into your pre-baby jeans. Trust me, she’s thinking about it more than you think. In fact, with the media rushing to publish the post-baby photos of every new celebrity mama, there is so much pressure for her to get back to her regular size. What’s most important is to make sure she’s taking care of herself so that she can take care of the baby.

Love and hugs.

• Bianca Carter is a certified lactation counsellor (CLC), founder of Bun in the Oven, and weekend radio personality on Y98 radio. For more information, e-mail info@babybunintheoven.com, or bcarter@tribunemedia.net. Follow Bun in the Oven on Facebook at babybunintheoven, and check out the Bun in the Oven Blog every Monday and Thursday at www.babybunintheoven.com.