Reanna Stephens was excited to be a mom in 2018, but cruel comments from strangers tainted what should have been a wonderful experience. Here is her story.
The 18-year-old student from South Carolina said that she'd been harassed and shamed ever since she began to tell people that she was expecting a baby. Reanna was then pregnant with a boy and was due in April 2018.
"My baby is growing the perfect amount every month as it's measured, just like everyone else's, so it's absolutely nothing to do with mine or the baby's health," she said.
During the pregnancy, the young woman decided to speak out about her unfortunate experience with bump shamers. She's shared revealing snapshots of her pregnancy progress to spread awareness that expectant moms can have naturally smaller bumps and still be healthy. She explained that she'd been forced to speak out after strangers made a number of extremely rude comments about her small baby bump.
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"People have asked me: 'You're not faking your pregnancy, are you?' [and] 'Are you sure your baby is healthy?' as well as people telling me I need to eat more and see a doctor in case I starve my child," she revealed. "I have also been told that I shouldn't be having a baby if I can't feed myself, but people know nothing about my diet or lifestyle."
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Reanna remained small throughout the first two trimesters of her pregnancy and credits her slim figure to "practicing a healthy vegan diet" and maintaining an "active lifestyle." Prior to getting pregnant, she'd practiced mixed marital arts for six years. The mom-to-be has continued with "gentle" exercise throughout her pregnancy, including yoga and cardio.
Thumbnail Photo: Caters News
Fortunately, Reanna had a sympathetic person to support her through strangers' accusations of lying about her pregnancy: her mom. The teen explained that her mom, who was an athlete, had a similar issue and didn't show until she was 7 months pregnant herself.
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