On last night's episode of "The Office," Pam faces the ultimate lady conundrum. She wants to look slim and trim in her wedding dress, but she's also pregnant. And hungry. As she reaches for a doughnut, obnoxious co-worker Ryan chimes in on cue: "You know, it's a myth that women need to gain more than nine pounds during pregnancy."Versions of this scene take place in offices all across America, and anywhere else pregnant women happen to be. There is something about being in the presence of an expectant mom that causes otherwise rational people to say and do inexplicably inane things. And for those who are already lacking in the tact department? Well, their blunders can be downright epic. We heard so many doozies from the women we interviewed, we wrote a whole chapter in Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? on how to deal with them: "The WTF Files: How to Deal With Dumb Comments and Stupid Moves."
Women face such intense pressure to have the "perfect" pregnancy (including the perfect-sized bump, which of course transforms into the perfectly flat, toned stomach right after childbirth). It certainly doesn't help that there is an endless parade of colorful characters--The Know-It-Alls, The Judges, The Space Invaders, The Horror Show Oversharers--lining up to question everything from the weight you've gained to the food choices you're making, and to tell you that you're doing it wrong.
How about you? Were you on the receiving end of any WTF comments or stupid moves during your pregnancy? Have you witnessed any?
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My favorite was my OB in Pasadena California. I was depressed throughout my first pregnancy - a story for another time - in my 8th month of pregnancy I started to lose weight because I wasn't eating (I'd only gained 9 pounds up to this point). My OB's reaction? "You are going to be so happy with your body when this baby is born".
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