Pregnant and commuting on tube

[terf]

Sorry for the rant, but I think I'm at my wits end - I've never been offered a seat on the tube despite being obviously pregnant and its really making me hate my commutes to work. It makes me think badly of fellow Londoners and increases my stress level just at the thought of getting on the tube. The other day a teenager raced with me to grab a seat on the tube then just stared at my pregnant belly and looked off. How do other people deal with it? I havent had the courage to ask for a seat yet - dont know why guess I'm intimidated.

Making sure your bump is on show is the hard bit for me, I just look fat until pretty late on (about 6 or 7 months last time, I'm 18 weeks now). I've tried the magazines but they're heavy to trug around.

ter, how pregnant are you? You may look pregnant to you but others may think you're fat I used to get very huffy in pregnancy about not being offered seats but realise in retrospect it just wasn't that obvious. From about six - seven months when I was obviously pg I always was offered one and usually by white males as it happens. But ask the person with the kindest face in the carriage and they will always do it ime but I know it's no fun. good luck, it's very stressful and towards the end of my pg I took buses as I just couldn't face the tension. good luck.

I always got offered seats on the tube.

When I didn't this was my tactic: Pick a candidate - young men and older women are the best - and stare at them while rubbing your bump and looking tired. They almost always offer.

If they don't, pick a healthy looking young man and ask, politely and loudly.

The bus however, thats another story!

I always looked for a vacant seat and if someone got to it before me, I would ask them if they minded if I sat down instead. Not one person ever refused and the only person ever to give me evils was a young girl in her 20s. I wasn't so good at asking if there hadn't been a vacant seat though. I once dived for a seat when someone got off at a station, to find another pregnant lady diving for it too. I said (eg) "I'm 26+4; how far along are you?". She said "I'm 27+3" so she got the seat. Then the guy sitting in the seat next to the empty one offered me his seat!

You have to be assertive! Good practice for when you have to deal with a 2 year old!

This drove me nutty while I was pregnant and I ended up throwing away a shed load of money on getting cabs everywhere.

The worst was on the DLR when, at 8 months pregnant, I stood in front of two seated, besuited men who ignored me. A young Black guy in his teens keep looking at me and after a few minutes leant forward to the seated guys and went mad with them saying how rude etc they were. One jumped up apologetically to give me his seat. The other one replied that I didn't look pregnant and proceeded to stare at me as if waiting for some kind of proof!