Apparently, no pregnant woman is immune from being shamed for their body — even (or especially) Kate Middleton.
On Tuesday, The Duchess of Cambridge made her first public appearance since announcing her third pregnancy. She appeared at Buckingham Palace to honor World Mental Health Day to recognize "the work of people & organizations in raising awareness of mental health," according to a tweet from the Kensington Palace official Twitter account.
When photos of her began to surface on the Kensington Royal official Instagram account, however, people had something else in mind: her body.
As BuzzFeed reports, many of the comments focused on her weight, as people began writing that she "looks too thin" to be pregnant, or that "it is physically impossible to be as emaciated and malnourished as she is and grow a healthy baby."
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Aside from being generally rude, the comments also miss the fact that Middleton suffers from hyperemesis gravidarum, a rare form of morning sickness that involves constant nausea and vomiting, leading to serious dehydration and dangerous weight loss. The most severe symptoms might lessen over time during the 12- or 13-week mark, but in many cases, they can last for the whole duration of pregnancy.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is treatable, but it can make it difficult to gain weight during pregnancy.
Apart from it being no one's business what a pregnant woman's body looks like, the speculation about her being "malnourished" is dangerous and offensive to someone who may very well still be suffering from a severe illness.
Welcome to Mothership: Parenting stories you actually want to read, whether you're thinking about or passing on kids, from egg-freezing to taking home baby and beyond. Because motherhood is a big if — not when — and it's time we talked about it that way.
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