What pregnancy looks like.
When I was working out the other day, I had the urge to get in the standing frame so I could get a visual of me pregnant. I asked my wonderful trainer to snap a photo because I wanted to show this visual to my husband and kids.
But then I got to thinking about why it was important in my mind to show my family my baby bump while standing. I am not a standing person—my kids never see me represented in that way. So why do I now feel the need to share my bump in this way? And then it hit me that the desire was pulled from the mainstream visual of pregnancy and the lack of visibility of disability in pregnancy.
To be honest, most days my sitting belly bump just seems like big bulge resting on my lap. And even though I have never dealt with too many body image issues as a result of my paralysis, being pregnant puts an added layer of pressure on what I should “look like”.
As I am now very visibly pregnant, what seems to come in my mind as I interact in the community is how do I validate this experience in the public? Short of carrying around a package of Pampers under my arm while shopping at Target, will people see me as a pregnant woman?
Most people have never seen a pregnant woman with a physical disability (or maybe they have and just assumed the person was not pregnant). Honestly, many people don’t even realize women with physical disabilities can be pregnant (and if you don’t know...now ya know!).
I often speak about giving more visibility to disability. I think this message echoes in my mind while pregnant more than ever.
