Elisha Bakes, from Melbourne, Australia, constantly received negative comments about the size of her bump when she was pregnant with her son Kaelen.
The mother-of-two told of how she was brutally ʙᴜʟʟɪᴇᴅ because of the size of her pregnancy bump.
Elisha Bakes, who has a son, Kyson, 21 months, was told her bump was “gross” and that she “must be expecting a horse” while pregnant with her second son. She gave birth last month but struggled to deal with a flood of negative comments while expecting.
Personal assistant Elisha Bakes started receiving negative comments about the upcoming birth of her son Kaelen when she shared a picture of her 14-week bump on Instagram last year.
The 160cm-tall mother said she was targeted by dozens of trolls who told her she must be further along than she claimed to be – and the negative comments just kept coming.
Bakes said, “When my third trimester started, I started to receive more and more comments about my growing baby bump. They would always be very repetitive, including that I was having 78 kids, giving birth to a horse, or it must have been triplets.
People would also make ʜᴜʀᴛꜰᴜʟ remarks such as, “Why is her bump so big? I better not get like this” and that it was the biggest bump they’d ever seen.
When I was six months along, I would often get asked if I was due to pop any day. I would get a very surprised reaction letting them know I was only 24 weeks along.”
Bakes, who has 32,700 Instagram followers, said some people would ᴄʀɪᴛɪᴄɪᴢᴇ her for being unhealthy and suggest she was eating too much.
The mother tried to explain that her diminutive height, compared to her partner Tane, who is 190cm, meant her bump would look big in comparison to the rest of her body.
She added, “I would have to try and explain this to people when they asked about the size of my bump. I also tend to carry a lot of fluid.
When people tell you that you look gross or suggest you’re not leading a healthy lifestyle during your pregnancy, it can be ʜᴜʀᴛꜰᴜʟ.
I ignored them 98 per cent of the time. I have thick skin, so I just continued to embrace my pregnancy and baby bump while I could.”
Despite the unkind comments, she said she had also received hundreds of messages from people who had been through the same experience. Some women told her about their polar opposite experience, where they would be asked if they were actually pregnant and told to eat more.
Ms Bakes said she liked to share her pregnancy journey online to remind people about the reasons that went behind her pregnancy bump.
She said, “I love sharing my journey online because I express my feelings in my posts. I like sending reminders that everyone carries differently and there are many factors that determine how you carry, such as weight, height, your partner’s genetics, fluid, and pregnancy conditions.
I get so many messages from women who tell me how I have given them more confidence and made them feel better about their bumps.
Comments regarding a woman’s size can really impact how they feel about themselves. Hormones are already running wild and adjusting to your changing body isn’t easy, so hearing ʜᴜʀᴛꜰᴜʟ remarks about your body can only have a negative impact.
No matter what size you are, pregnancy isn’t easy.”
