Pregnant woman stirs controversial debate about whether it is morally correct for a stranger to touch a pregnant woman’s belly — “Makes me feel ill!"
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Pregnant woman stirs controversial debate about whether it is morally correct for a stranger to touch a pregnant woman’s belly — “Makes me feel ill!”
We often recognise the act of extending your best wishes to a pregnant woman as a gesture of goodwill and support. After all, carrying a baby in your womb is not an easy task for expecting mothers as both their health and their babies' health are on the line.
It is also understood that as women go through the process of pregnancy, hormonal fluctuations that may trigger mood swings should be expected.
However, one heavily pregnant woman has stirred quite a fierce debate among social media users after sharing her issue with an unfamiliar woman touching her stomach without her consent.
Mum-to-be Danielle Fraser has taken to TikTok to share her "rude" encounter with a woman — who Danielle estimated to be in her sixties — after the stranger touched her womb while she was shopping at her local Bunnings and asked her how "far" she was with her pregnancy.
Credit: TikTok/@theaveragewifeau
The pregnant woman, who posts under the username @theaveragewifeau, said that she "grabbed" the elderly woman's hand and "pushed it off" her stomach.
Danielle says in the video: “So I’m in Bunnings. This lady - she’s not old old, but she’s probably 60 - put her hand on my stomach and went, ‘Oh, how far are you?’”
“I grabbed her hand, looked her in the eye, pushed it off and went ‘I’m not pregnant’ and then waddled away."
The mum-to-be revealed that she is nine months pregnant and that she was very upset with what the stranger did to her.
The video has gone viral, amassing more than 258,000 views and hundreds of comments from TikTok users who seemed to be divided over the argument on whether Danielle was right for feeling upset.
A number of users said that while they understood that she was in a delicate state, the woman was just expressing her sincere wishes for her.
One person wrote: “I get it people shouldn’t touch but I think it comes from a place of excitement at thought of new life. I try to educate not belittle.”
“Oh how terrible some lovely lady touching your stomach. God what’s the problem?” one asked.
Another comment read: “I love when people touch my bump! People just giving loving excited vibes.”
“That was a bit mean. Boundaries are real, but she meant no harm,” another quipped.
Danielle admitted that the “rude” act made her feel upset. Credit: TikTok/@theaveragewifeau.
Others pointed out that the stranger's age should be taken into account, as she probably experienced pregnancy in a different time where the act would be more normal.
“They are adults but they grew up in a different era and if they don’t know better, then they do what they’ve always done,” one person argued.
However, a number of people did not excuse the woman's actions, arguing that it’s never okay to touch a pregnant woman's stomach without her consent.
One person wrote: “Did they time travel here? Besides: touching strangers was ALWAYS rude. We need to stop making excuses for people acting entitled to women’s bodies.”
“The idea of a stranger touching my stomach like it’s public property makes me feel ill,” another added.
A third quipped: “You’ve been alive long enough to know better.”
Danielle showed off her belly, revealing she is “about nine months pregnant”. Credit: TikTok/@theaveragewifeau.
Elsewhere in the comments section, a number of users commented on the fact that the woman assumed that Danielle was pregnant, labelling the act as "problematic".
One user said: “These comments are not it. What if she had recently had a miscarriage? What if she actually wasn’t pregnant? This is never OK.”
“This happened to me and I wasn’t pregnant and my belly wasn’t that big. I had a top on that flared out but gosh she upset me,” another commented.
A third added: “People who haven’t struggled with infertility might not realise that some IVF treatments make you look pregnant and this can be traumatic in public.”
With all the commotion going on, many TikTok users praised Danielle for her brave move of taking a stand on the issue.
One woman wrote: “You did this for every woman who has been pregnant and has had a stranger touch their stomach. Thank you!”
How about you? In your opinion, is the gesture of the stranger rude? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!