Baby On Board badges and public transport

[S1mmy]

Although these badges are more common for London commuters I'm sure you can all relate...

I started my pregnancy naively thinking that commuters always notice a badge and everyone would be gracious enough to offer their seat to a pregnant woman. I think whether you are suffering morning sickness at 8 weeks or nearly due at 36 weeks and tired, you are still pregnant and need a seat. Although it's not a right, it's just kindness.

Having been on public transport for the past four weeks with my badge and having a 90 min commute, I have been offered a seat very few times, women pushed past to grab the last seat, people stare at their phones, pretend to be asleep or just blatantly stare at me. It doesn't matter what type of person, young people, tourists, and the many Polish and Indian people that travel my tubeline the lack of kindness has shocked me no end. I have lost faith in humankind, people are just too selfish now.

I'm 32 weeks and use the tube daily during rush hour

It's normally so crowded no one can see I'm pregnant - not that many people are looking anyway as they're absorbed by their phones

I ask the people near the door to let me past to the seats and when I'm near them I say "sorry but please can someone give me a seat". Several people always jump up

If you don't ask you don't get!

Again, you're ascribing things to me I haven't said. I'm very capable of thinking poorly of someone without getting myself worked up.

Yep, I'm physically uncomfortable. I carry out an assessment of whether I'd rather be uncomfortable and carry the medium-term consequences of that against my readiness for potential conflict and embarrassment. It's a different calculation each time. I accept that I shouldn't feel embarrassed about someone abusing me on a train - but we can't always help our immediate reactions, can we?

I have asked. It hasn't always ended well. I'm glad it did for you.

I'm another long distance commuter - over 90 mins with two trains and a tube each way.

Generally a very positive experience, I actually ended up with three seats on the tube the other day as so many people got up to offer. Which is why I was stunned into silence this evening when a 25ish man pushed me out of the way to get on the tube first, blocked the only pole I could reach for two stops then plonked himself in the priority seat.for the next three. My repeated 'excuse me' and loud 'ow' when he barged past clearly not loud enough to hear over his headphones.

Other than that it's been really nice how kind people have been, particularly when I came over all faint on the central line a few weeks back and the woman opposite me turned out to be an off duty nurse who had already clocked that something wasn't right!

Having a seat is nothing to do with my feet - I'm feeling fine at 25 weeks and have been lucky to have no sickness. I do feel very vulnerable though (odd for me!) and being shoved around on a packed rush hour train is not fun so I will often try to seek out a seat. Doesn't help that, at 5', there are limited places for me to hang on and despite being a proficient tube surfer, doing it with the bump makes me nervous!

Seriously. You can believe me or not, it doesn't really bother me.

I find the badges insufferably smug. I have commuted throughout pregnancy. Grow a pair and ask for a seat if you genuinely need one.

Someone should do a line of ironic versions re: hangovers, up all night with the kids/watching Game of Thrones, horrible boss, twisted ankle dancing on table...

Life is hard for lots of people in London and there's no badge for 'working 16 hour day in 3 jobs', and that person is likely to be more tired than someone in second trimester.

I suppose it helps if you see a woman and just aren't sure if she is pregnant or has a bit of a tummy.

I was on the tube yesterday (on a seat) and two women got on. One looked like she was pregnant and the other was very skinny. As they sat down, the one who looked pregnant (she wasn't) said to the skinny one 'you need to get one if those badges now so that you always get a seat'.

I wear a badge but I wouldn't ask someone else for their seat unless I really needed one i.e I felt sick or dizzy. Otherwise I am wearing it so that a. People don't barge into my stomach when they push past me to get off and b. If people were feelingly kindly and okay themselves they might think about offering me their seat as I probably feel vulnerable, exhausted, my legs hurt, my bump hurts and I may well be wanting to cry by the end of the working day! As I say though I can stand so I wouldn't ask.

That's what the badge means to me and why I don't consider myself 'insufferably smug' for wearing one. That is quite an odd judgement to make of someone

I also always assumed the badge was just so people could avoid the "is she pregnant or will I insult her by offering a seat" problem!

It's also good to temper the barging into you. Although doesn't always work as I discovered between London Bridge and Bank yesterday on a packed tube

I would ask if I needed to, although would be incredibly embarrassed to. I felt awful yesterday as I got one of the last seats and a guy with a walking stick got on. Normally I'd stand and let him have it but currently I'm pregnant with spd, have backache which actually saw me in hospital yesterday as they think I have a pulmonary embolism, and I get dizzy if I stand up more than 5 mins! Logically I know I needed the seat but I still felt a right shit.