Any time a pregnant Eliana Rodriguez went out in public during her pregnancy earlier this year, people starred and pointed. At 29 years old, Rodriguez is now a mom of two.
Pregnant and With a Larger-Than-Normal Bump, Mom Responds to the Pregnancy Shamers She’s Encountered
But when she was pregnant with her second child, she was subjected to so many pregnancy shamers, the Today Show reported. Like many pregnant women, as Rodriguez’s pregnancy progressed, her stomach grew.
However, Rodriguez’s stomach continued to grow to a “larger-than-average” size, garnering unsolicited comments from complete strangers. As the proud mom told Today, People would tell Rodriguez, “you are huge” and questioned if she was really having twins.
But in Rodriguez’s case, the size of her stomach was “perfectly natural” and normal and throughout her pregnancy, Rodriguez and her son were perfectly healthy.
“I carried big during my pregnancies; both my children weighed 8.3 pounds at birth,” she revealed, noting that her son measured 20.5 inches at birth, and her now 3-year-old daughter measured 19.5 inches.
And while the negative comments left on her Instagram posts were unwarranted and unwanted, the mama said she didn’t let it bother her too much. “I was never rude back. I’d answer, ‘Yes, I am huge and it’s hard.’”
But don’t get it twisted, Rodriguez also needed to make sense of why her belly was bigger than most. The answer is quite simple, “My doctors said it was normal because I am only 4’11” and have a shorter torso.”
In the end, Rodriguez shared a message with those who pregnancy shamed her and those who have a hard time keeping their opinions to themselves. “I’m aware that some people lack compassion for others. I am a woman of faith and…I feel so bad for people saying hateful comments.”
Rodriguez also shared concern for the perinatal or postpartum women who are “in a dark place” and dealing with depression who may experience similar comments like Rodriguez did.
Now, Eliana is a proud mama to two and her kiddos couldn’t be any cuter! Like her Instagram bio says, her goal is to “inspire and empower” women and we hope she continues to do that!