Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Touching your stomach when pregnant

29 replies

Plannergirl9 · 25/10/2018 23:13

I've never been pregnant never will be. I've been seeing lots of photos of the Meghan Markle touching/holding her stomach. I asked my Dsis who did this alot when pregnant herself why she did it. She said it was to show off she was having a baby. I thought it was because you could feel the baby move but Dsis said you don't feel the baby move until about 5 months. Apparently Meghan isn't that far along. She could be though for all we know.

Can I ask if you did similar and why you did it?

(This is a genuine question, not a get at Meghan thread) TIA

OP posts:
M0gg · 25/10/2018 23:15

Yeah even when I was very early on. I wasn't even conscious of it until friends told me. It was a protective thing I think.

adoggymama · 25/10/2018 23:16

I think it's a love and protective thing. Especially if you've wanted a baby for a long time. It's emotional.

Getonthatbroomandfly · 25/10/2018 23:16

Personally I held/rubbed my tummy because I was feeling loving towards my baby and/or because I just wasn't used to having a bulging tummy.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families
AnneLovesGilbert · 25/10/2018 23:18

I’ve never done it show I’m pregnant but I guess some people do. I’ve found myself doing it without thinking when I’m around very loud noises, which sounds really stupid Blush

Sometimes your bump aches so it might be that. Everyone’s different.

AtSea1979 · 25/10/2018 23:18

I was just patting my baby as if to say mums here.

strawberrypenguin · 25/10/2018 23:19

Early stages I think it's a protective thing. Later on it's often because baby has a knee/ arm/foot jabbed somewhere uncomfortable!
It's not a conscious thing (at least it wasn't for me)

Coconutspongexo · 25/10/2018 23:21

For me it was just habit as having a big belly was so strange to me and I needed to come to terms with it

Hideandgo · 25/10/2018 23:24

It’s protectiom. I know when going through crowds or anything nearby that might swing in my direction (train station gates etc) I’d instinctively put my hands there.

PickAChew · 25/10/2018 23:27

The above. And it's heavy. And you come out sideways a bit, too, so your arms don't sit as comfortably by your side as they usually do.

SadSongsAndWaltzes · 25/10/2018 23:29

One of my friends said she knew I was pregnant very early on - maybe 5 or 6 weeks, because I was holding/rubbing my tummy and standing in a particular way. I wasn't trying to show off, I guess it was just an instinctive, subconscious thing which I didn't realise I was doing. Later on its just nice to give baby a pat, or push little limbs back in when they stick out awkwardly. Even later it becomes somewhere to rest your hands!

Original poster
Plannergirl9 · 25/10/2018 23:29

Thank you for the interesting replies. I have often wondered what it felt like to be pregnant.

OP posts:
Aria2015 · 25/10/2018 23:29

I couldn't bring myself to really touch my stomach much, especially early on as I'd had miscarriages before and somehow it felt like tempting fate. In fact I usually sleep on my back and place my hands on my stomach but when I was pregnant I'd purposely put my hands by my side. I don't think it's necessarily to show off when women do it. I think it can be subconscious and also you do feel funny twinges and a stretching feeling early on so could be in response to that. Also I imagine some women do it to feel connected to their unborn baby.

spugzbunny · 25/10/2018 23:34

Personally I was always touching my bump from a very early stage. Well before I could feel anything. I guess I just felt very attached to her. I always felt like I had a little buddy in my tummy and by touching my stomach I felt that I was closer to her. It may seem ridiculous but it comforted me

meow1989 · 25/10/2018 23:38

I always thought it was strange before I was pregnant, then when I was pregnant I was definitely a bump toucher. I don't really know why. I used to do it when I was talking to the baby or talking about the baby in the same way I now give DS a squish in an "aw you're amazing" way. I also found that if something made me jump or I was unsure of a situation my hand would go to my bump instantly, maybe it's a primitive protective/binding thing.

meow1989 · 25/10/2018 23:38

In addition: I remember very clearly what a strange feeling it was the first time after having ds when I was talking about him and my hand went to my stomach but there was no bump.

BertieBotts · 25/10/2018 23:39

I really liked being pregnant and I liked to feel the hard mass of my bump because it was so novel and exciting! It also helped it to feel more real as it can be a bit surreal sort of intellectually knowing you're going to have a baby but they aren't here yet.

I have always felt my babies move from about 3 months although I know this is unusual. 4-5 months is more usual, Meghan is apparently over 4 months so this isn't necessarily a terrible guess. You definitely can't feel them from the outside though at this point. More like 5-6 months.

MrsTommyBanks · 25/10/2018 23:43

For me it was a subconscious bonding thing. I loved the life inside me.

shartsi · 25/10/2018 23:46

I loved knowing that my babies were growing in my tummy from the time I got a positive test. I constantly rubbed my tummy to feel connected to them. The sense of touch is one of the most important says that humans show affection. Even before I felt my babies move, I loved them and subconsciously showed my love for them by rubbing my tummy. Most of the time I didn't even notice that I was doing it. Its a bit like a new relationship when you can't keep your hands off your partner.

PouringMilk · 25/10/2018 23:50

It's sweet. I don't recall touching my tummy much myself. I do remember my ex touching it as it got bigger.

Taylor22 · 26/10/2018 00:24

My husband told me that the day we found out I was pregnant when I fell asleep on the couch my hand went to my stomach and held it.

Being pregnant was crazy. It's a permanent consciousness. I never forgot for a single second and even though the baby was inside me you subconsciously want to get closer.

ThriftyMcThrifty · 26/10/2018 03:06

I touch mine when I feel the baby moving, if I like the baby, he reacts. I also hold it for support, it’s heavy and uncomfortable. In the early weeks it’s a bonding thing I think.

ThriftyMcThrifty · 26/10/2018 03:06

If I poke the baby!

DinosApple · 26/10/2018 06:11

Yes I touched my bump lots. Sometimes it was just subconsciously done, other times for protection, and in that stage where you don't look pregnant just a rub to show I hadn't just piled the pounds on. And as you get bigger the baby will sometimes respond to a pat or rub which is exciting.

There were times I had sharp sudden stretching uterus/ligament pains - right from a few weeks to the end. I always had a hand there then too.

Chimchar · 26/10/2018 06:37

When you have no bump, in the very early stages, I think it's subconscious....my colleague did this for weeks before she announced her pregnancy, and when I told her, she said she had no idea she was doing it.

As your bump gets bigger, some times it gets itchy, sometimes the baby jiggles and it's weird to feel, sometimes you can poke the baby and it will poke back.... touching or rubbing it is quite a comforting thing to do I guess.

Rockbird · 26/10/2018 06:54

Totally subconscious, I did it from very early on. And then the bigger you get then it becomes a natural resting place for a spare hand as a PP said, your arms don't seem to hang as naturally as before!