It wasn?t Melody Bachlow?s finest pregnancy moment. ?Does anybody want to give up a seat to a pregnant lady"!? the 30-year-old Torontonian, then seven months along, brashly asked a full streetcar.
Luckily, someone did, but Bachlow wasn?t satisfied. ?I wanted to be offered a seat,? she explains. She also craved those invasive belly rubs, knowing smiles and nosy questions from strangers that other expectant moms often loathe. But at a size 18, and mostly ?showing? only to those close enough to notice her shape shift, Bachlow felt excluded from what she calls ?the special pregnant-lady club.? For  some plus-size moms-to-be, a largely invisible pregnancy can be a lonely and disappointing experience.
Mirroring the weight stats in the general population, almost one in four women won?t enjoy a fantasy pregnancy of a perfect round belly flanked by slim limbs. ?Did you know only skinny women get pregnant" Because that?s all we ever see!? jokes Jen McLellan, a plus-size-pregnancy advocate and founder of the Denver-based plussizebirth.com. A healthy and active size 24, McLellan is very familiar with the often-ignored plus-size pregnancy. ?I was expecting at the same time as a close friend, so we?d go to the bathroom and compare bumps.? While her slimmer friend grew a smooth protruding bump, McLellan?s belly showed less and took longer to do so. ?People would say to her, ?Omigosh, look how cute your belly is!? Then they?d look at me and ask if I?d lost weight,? she recalls...