Are pregnant women smug? Or are single people just bitter?

Don't you think you should rephrase that, Sarah? Because I count wank in 3...2...1...

As to the smugness, hell yes. I'm sick to death of breeding women shoving their "sacred" condition into my face, sick of hearing every detail of pregnancy, and sick to death of the endless "unique" moments that EVERY PREGNANT WOMAN HAS.

Yes, giving birth is a big part of life. A big part of YOUR life, miss pregnant queen. NOT any part of mine. Why can't people just be happy for themselves and not feel a need to get it all over everybody else?

I have known smug pregnant women (who have become smug, "I'm so sorry you'll never have a true purpose in life" mothers) and bitter single and childless women. In general, smug pregnant women were smug before they conceived and bitter singles will be bitter should they choose a partner in life.

Did I mention that a pregnant friend was the first to send me this video?

The ones who prance in heels into the subway and stick their tummies out in front of me, then smirk expectantly, are smug. They are considerably younger than I and, physiologically, at the top of their game. I have tendonitis. I stay seated. So do the teenaged guys.

The ones who walk onto the train, perhaps shepherding another child, wearing sneakers and looking tired, are not smug; they could use some help, and that outranks my tendonitis.

It depends on the individual.

And then there are STROLLERS. BIG ones, BIG ones aimed at ankles. Big ones powered by mommies who don't hesitate to lead with the stroller as the street lights start to change, freaking out drivers. I say license the strollers. We could use the money.

I don't think I'm bitter. But my ankles and shins are sore, and I've done too many broken-field walks to escape people who have decided that parenthood gives them stroller-rights through where I'm standing.

Now, a parent carrying a child gets my subway seat, male or female. A stroller? Those things are kevlar.

EOC

The only options are smug and bitter? Smug? Most definitely- so sick of the self entitled women who think the earth should stop just because they got knocked up. Bitter? Um. Not so much. How about exhausted, tired and just plain ol' worn out with having to deal with people yammering on and on about the virtues of motherhood? Not all of us harbor a secret desire to have children. Most of us actually mean it when we say, "Yeah. No thanks. Popping out children and contributing to the world's population problem isn't exactly on my to-do list."

I think if you are smug person in general it will really come out if you are pregnant. Sort of like how people who are sorta controlling become supercontrolling during a wedding.

Well, being pregnant now I hope I'm not smug, but I really don't think giving birth is something special, women have been doing it since forever. I don't tell my friends that they need to get pregnant ASAP, I don't really talk about it unless people ask how the little one is doing.

I guess I won't know till my little one is born but I really don't feel like some special knowledge or bond with the earth has happened just because I'm growing a soon to appear person.

I'm actively trying to avoid the whole I'm pregant and super duper special attitude because my SIL was like that and she was freaking insufferable.

Couldn't it just as easily be the other way around? Child free couples who can enjoy their lives without the bother, expense, and irritations of children? Or those who chose (or didn't necessarily choose) to have children feeling put-upon, exhausted, and just unappreciated by their misbegotten offspring (especially at approximately $500k per child over 20-odd years of raising).

Actually, most of the people I know who have kids are quite happy with their decision (they wanted them), and most of the people I know who don't have kids are happy with their decision (they didn't want them). Must everything, even reproduction, be a contest?

So much hatred toward pregnant women. I'm expecting my second and had no idea there were so many paranoid jerks giving me an entitlement once-over on the subway.

Most of us are just...pregnant. You know, just as your mothers and grandmothers were.

Just speaking from my own life experiences, I haven't encountered that much "smugness" from the day-to-day women that I encounter, but wow, pick up a copy of "People" or "Ladies Home Journal" and read the earth-mother musings from the cover-girl-mom-to-be! OK, we get it, Ms. Celebrity - it's not enough that you're fabulously beautiful, talented, and rich; you're also about to produce the most perfect baby (OK, depending on your religion, second-most perfect baby) ever conceived in the history of the human race, and you owe it all to your high-priced doctor/nutrition counselor/trainer and your post-partum staff of nannies and early-childhood educators.

Maybe that attitude didn't rub off on me because I don't have kids, but it sure does seem to influence some of the "normal" women out there!

there is truly nothing worse than a smugly pregnant bitter single woman.

who are the ones most likely to become smug pregnant women (or vice-versa). In any case, the singers are correct about all the pregnancy cliches...can't anyone come up with an original comeback?

Pregnant women do have my sympathy, however, when it comes to everyone (loved ones and strangers alike) who thinks they are entitled to pat your stomach or demand to know if you're breastfeeding and if not, then why not?

The double wides should be illegal. Sit those kids one in front of the other and yes one will feel a little less special.

Quick story:

I worked as a hostess in a restaurant that did not take reservations. A couple comes in at 8:00 on Saturday night expecting to be seated immediately because the wife was pregnant and couldn't be on her feet. I didn't see a bump so maybe she was newly pregnant. The hostess I was working with quoted an hour waiting time for a table. The couple insisted they get special treatment due to the woman's condition. The hostess stepped from behind the hostess stand, HUGE and seven months pregnant and said, "Waiting an hour won't be so bad," and walked a group of guests to a table.