All the pregnant ladies: Step away from the photos of celeb baby bumps.

By BEC SPARROW

Imagine there’s a fence and I’m sitting on it. Because that’s how I feel about some new research findings that have come out about pregnant women obsessing over celebrity baby bumps.

Here’s the thing. You know how all women (okay, not all women. My mum is really not Googling Mila Kunis every day. Or ever). I’ll start again. A lot of women like looking at celebrity baby bumps. Conversations in obstetric waiting rooms routinely go like this:  Mila Kunis is pregnant!  Look at what she’s wearing! How far along do you think she is?  I look way further along than her. When is she due? I’m loving those leggings.  Is she eating fried chicken in that photo?

Well new research has come out to say that when non-famous pregnant women start obsessing about celebrity pregnant women the outcomes aren’t terrific.

Here’s how it was reported on Jezebel:

A study suggests that obsessing over celebrity baby bumps does not only affect the self-esteem of a pregnant mother but also the actual connection she feels to her baby.

The study, published in the journal Psychology & Marketing looked at 478 expecting mothers, and found that pregnant women who more closely follow pregnant celebrities, along with other factors, were more likely to have body image issues and stress regarding weight gain, something a lot of moms already deal with. But the researchers also found it had another effect. As Melissa Dahl at NY Mag writes:

“But Krisjanous was also curious what impact this might have on these women’s feelings toward the pregnancy in general. In short: It wasn’t great. These women also reported lower prenatal attachment, something she defined as “the feelings of attachment or love a mother feels for her developing baby during a pregnancy.”

Let’s be honest – 478 people isn’t exactly a massive case study. But do they have a point? I certainly recall during my fourth pregnancy that I behaved in a somewhat stalkerish fashion towards Duchess Catherine who was pregnant with Prince George at the same time.

And sure, there were moments where I realised that despite being only days apart … I looked like I was carrying triplets as compared to Her Royal Highness.

Did that make me depressed?  I can’t remember. I was too busy eating Milo from the tin and trying to find my ankles. But I can certainly say it didn’t impact my bonding with my son when he was born.

So what do you think?  Would being pregnant at the same time as a celebrity make you a bit obsessive or competitive with them? And hands up if anyone else out there ate Milo from the tin when they were up the duff?

Is there anything wrong with obsessing over celebrity baby bumps?