Pregnant women are not respected the same anymore

[Grannypantsandtea]

Is it just me or are people more inconsiderate to pregnant women (and new mums) than they used to be?
I remember being pregnant with my eldest 11 years ago, people would hold open doors, offer me seats etc. A lovely man helped me carry my buggy down stairs when the lift was broken. Older people would stop to fuss over the new baby.
Im now pregnant again with a very obvious bump and I’ve not come across one kind person yet.
Ive had people push into me, rush to get ahead in queues, run to take a bench I was clearly trying to sit at while feeling faint, not a single door held open, a woman pushing past to get into a lift so I couldn’t (spd so struggle with stairs).
Maybe it’s just me being old fashioned, I certainly don’t expect special treatment, but to lack consideration for a woman struggling seems to be a recent thing, I’m sure they wouldn’t do it to disabled people.
I have always been thoughtful to pregnant women, holding doors open for buggies etc, I thought it was just a general part of respect in this country but it’s sad how the world has changed in a decade.
Has anyone else experienced this complete lack of care towards others or is it just me? I’m prepared to be told I’m precious, but it only takes a few seconds out of your life to stop and let a pregnant lady walk past for example.

Feel better now?

People include males and females. It's only women that get pregnant. Pregnant people is a weird thing to say.

My mum is in a wheelchair and cant do anything without any support, people will push into her chair, push us out the way, tut if they have to hold doors open, even ‘accessible’ places cant fit newer chairs, on the bus we’ve had someone try to sit on her chair because ‘she won’t mind’.
So no, pregnancy and disability are not the same.

Wow thank you, I had no idea that people included males and females. Your Nobel prize for contributions to scientific research is in the post 🏅

Glad it was of use to you.

Although clearly it is, if someone ends up in a wheelchair as a result of their pregnancy. It doesn't matter how it occured. The result is still the same.

There are priority seats reserved on trains and buses for disabled and pregnant people.

So clearly in some instances the two physical states are comparable.

Sorry to hear you've been treated badly op. Idk if it's a new thing but there are definitely lots of inconsiderate fuckers out there (hence seats having to be stated as prioritised for certain groups, because not everyone will bother to give up their seat to someone who needs it more).

Exactly. The kind of conversations I had with strangers when was eldest was born seem all to be off the table now - is he a good sleeper? Is he a good baby? How am I managing? would all be met with derision if MN is typical of society generally. I used to often offer to take a fractous baby in eg the hairdresser's or in a cafe to let its mother do what she has to do, but I would not dare now. I also would not dream of offering any advice about eg sleeping which was fairly commonplace 30 years ago. The current way to raise children is very insular - people have Google and think that replaces experience. It doesn't. The complete derision of anything other than the current guidelines (which seem to be accepted as the definitive set, nothing will ever change) and the inane Your Baby Your Rules mantra, no matter how ridiculous those rules are, make having a baby and being pregnant a lot different now, and old gits like me have no clue how to navigate this, so I don't and am probably accused of not caring. You can't win.

I was on a thread a couple of days ago about kissing a baby which sort of illustrates what I am trying to say.
Page after page of - to me at least - hysteria about a risk so vanishingly small it was not worth worrying about. Of course, there's always someone who knew someone, so it's not risk free but is extremely low risk. Yet on and on it went, brushing aside any debate by quoting The Current Rules and sneering at anyone daring to question the sense and logic. A few even went of to say that babies do not need to get kissed! As I saus, I am an old git and have seen so many changes of advice I just go with the flow and use common sense but it's that that seems to be lacking in favour of slavishly following guidelines that will change in a year or two.
Usually I am asked rather patronisingly 'Do you have children?' as if it's impossible to hold my views and to have raised three kids my self. Sometimes when I am on a thread about baby routines, someone even says 'poor baby' because my children were not brought up to current guidelines, which we all kniw are both definitive, correct and will never change, ever🤔🙄

I don’t agree necessarily. I have on several occasions taken a small baby or watched one in a pram in public bathrooms so that the mum could go to the toilet with the door closed and both hands free. I think being a young(ish) woman probably helps - maybe I just look particularly unthreatening.

I am a fan of ‘baby on board’ badges. Yes they’re a bit twee but it really helps when knowing who to offer a seat to in a way that won’t cause offence. A young man stood up for me once on the tube when I was very much not pregnant. I didn’t wear that outfit again…