# What do you think of the term "baby bump"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-the-term-baby-bump/619386 "2012-04-20T07:06:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-the-term-baby-bump/619386/61 "2013-04-30T22:23:51Z")
For some reason I can’t fathom, I have an E! Online! feed on my home page, and I swear to god they cannot go 6 hours without pointing out some C-List celebrity “flaunting her baby bump”. Both the phrase, and their obsession with celebrity reproduction, make my skin crawl. (How did we get through millions of years of sexual reproduction without having a cutesy alliterative phrase to describe mammalian gravidity?) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-the-term-baby-bump/619386/62 "2013-04-30T22:37:52Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Eh, the term itself doesn’t bother me. What I hate is gossipy TV shows putting up photos of random female celebrities whose abs may not be super-toned and shouting “OMG!!! IS THAT A BABY BUMP???!!!” No, it’s just \>2% body fat. Shut up. (Yes, I’m often in the room when my wife watches E! News. The things we do for love..) > > I’ve never heard “Tot Mom” or “Push Present” before. Ever heard “F trophy”? I don’t like that either. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-the-term-baby-bump/619386/63 "2013-04-30T22:39:49Z")
> [@impatien](#): > > I despise the term baby bump. Also “we’re pregnant”. Those are enough to send me over the edge. On a side note, the skin tight, belly-button revealing maternity clothes people wear these days make me sick as well. > > It appears I’m over the pregnancy stage of my life! Honestly, those are all that’s available. If I was a pregnant woman right now, I’d have to make my own maternity clothes, or buy them secondhand, or even improvise, because I don’t like tight-fitting shirts. ETA: I might not have gone quite as far as they did in the 1940s. Ever seen mail-order catalogues from that era? Their maternity clothes were wrap dresses, designed to “keep your secret” as long as possible, because that’s just how things were done back then. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-the-term-baby-bump/619386/64 "2013-04-30T22:40:11Z")
I hate it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-the-term-baby-bump/619386/65 "2013-05-01T10:26:59Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > This thread was started before I got pregnant. Now, I’m nearly 7 months pregnant and have a cute baby bump. I like the phrase! What else would I call it - pregnancy protuberance? This is a question I think you need to answer. If baby bump is so offensive, surely you have another term in mind that would work. Then again, I’ve never gotten this ire people have for mere words. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-the-term-baby-bump/619386/66 "2013-05-01T13:41:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > This is a question I think you need to answer. If baby bump is so offensive, surely you have another term in mind that would work. > > Then again, I’ve never gotten this ire people have for mere words. It used to be called “showing”, as in “oh, you’re starting to show!”. If it was necessary to be anatomical, it was referred to as a “tummy” or (bordering on vulgar) “belly”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-the-term-baby-bump/619386.md?page=3)