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Content creator Marium Hosein wants people to stop asking women if they’re pregnant

Content creator Marium Hosein wants people to stop asking women if they’re pregnant

'It is NORMAL to have a belly. It is normal for it to exist. If you see it and it’s protruding, it is NOT always a pregnancy.'
21 Jun, 2025

Pakistani-American influencer and content creator Marium Hosein is taking a moment to teach people that asking someone if they’re pregnant is in no way acceptable and we’re so glad she’s said it, because someone sure had to!

Hosein, a rather beloved digital creator based in New Orleans with over 260,000 followers, received messages from her followers asking if she was pregnant after posting a picture with her husband. In an Instagram post, she decided to help people understand why doing that was wrong.

“If they are — you’ll know. You do not need to satisfy your curiosity. God forbid women show the hint of having a belly — does not in any way signify a pregnancy. It’s just a belly. We all have one. And the presence of one DOES NOT MEAN that they are pregnant. The levels of consciousness that women have to display re their bodies is so sad,” she wrote in one of the slides of the post.

Hosein added that millions of women struggle with fertility and were placed on medication that could increase their weight, thus asking someone if they were pregnant when they weren’t could be “extremely hurtful”.

“And 99 per cent of women will not tell you this, because there’s SO much shame involved with looking pregnant and not being pregnant when you’re trying for a baby.”

She continued that millions of women never went back to having flat stomachs after giving birth, including her. “I have a belly. Sometimes I wear clothes that may accentuate it more than normal. It is NORMAL to have a belly. It is normal for it to exist. If you see it and it’s protruding, it is NOT always a pregnancy.”

The influencer maintained that it was no one’s business to know when some one was planning a family, and such curiosity needed to end, because some people struggled with it and most were not comfortable discussing the matter.

“To anyone who is trying to conceive, who has experienced loss, who is struggling with weight, I am so sorry if you’ve experienced the line of questioning that makes you not love yourself. You are wonderful. You are loved. You are amazing. And you need to politely tell people not to let their curiosity blur the lines of being rude.”

Hosein clarified that she was not pregnant and simply wore something that tied above her belly. She added that she was a mother to three children, had a terrible metabolism and loved food.

“I have a belly that slumps over. Let’s please normalise women looking however they want without assuming they are pregnant,” she wrote.

In a video shared as part of the same post, Hosein said no one asked men about their weight, or said that they looked like the father of three kids, “with such a big tummy that you can balance a cup on it.”

“Meanwhile, if a woman births a child at 40, she’s called out for her age, but the uncle in his 50s is asked nothing, nor is he told to take it easy. Instead, he is commended. Forgive women. Stop looking at someone’s stomach and asking if there’s any ‘good news’.”

Hosein clarified that she was not upset that people messaged her to ask if she was pregnant, and maintained that she was proud of the progress she had made to lose weight and get fitter in the two years after birthing her daughter.

“I’m not even a 100pc there yet. I have a long way to go. But I chose to talk about this because of teaching and learning, [and] also because I myself did a little learning. We will all carry weight a little differently, and not everything is pregnancy.

“The obsession with someone being pregnant or not has to end. Who is pregnant, who is in relations with their husband log. It needs to stop. Getting this information isn’t helping you digest your food better. It isn’t helping you be a better person. So, let’s stop playing CID investigators.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. There is absolutely no need to ask women if they’re pregnant — especially if you don’t even know them personally. Even if you do know them — whether they’re pregnant is really none of your business. Many people often justify this unnecessary curiosity by saying “it was just a question” or “what’s the harm in asking”, but the truth is, it’s no one’s business at all. You’re not entitled to ask people questions about their private lives just because you’re curious.

Respect people’s privacy and leave women’s bodies alone!

Comments

Ahmed Jun 21, 2025 04:24pm
Obesity is the worse way to live. It's not ok to have a belly unless that's the shape of the body. It's wrong to ask a woman if she's pregnant. Maybe it should be wrong for women to tell people if they haven't asked about it?
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JAMIL SOOMRO Jun 21, 2025 04:43pm
Marium Hosein it is absolutely not"Normal" to have a belly. And this applies to both man and a woman so don't panic.? In real world that we live in the others judge our appearance just as we judge theirs. So in my opinion the question stays valid " Are You Pregnant".?
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Laila Jun 21, 2025 04:56pm
It's about boundaries, privacy and general manners. Something unfortunately lacking in Pakistan. Not a problem in New Orleans. It will take generations to teach Pakistanis sense of privacy and personal boundaries.
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Muneer Ahmed Memon Jun 21, 2025 05:29pm
Bacwas article. Here you may talk about majority of people who do not ask about pregnancy some from minority may which exception
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Tahmad Jun 21, 2025 05:41pm
It’s normal for a man to have belly but not for women to have a belly unless they are pregnant.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Jun 21, 2025 06:34pm
If you are a public figure, then the people have the right to ask you any type and all types of decent questions.
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M. Saeed Jun 21, 2025 07:03pm
What is wrong in it after "me too" being common in the affected?
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A reader Jun 23, 2025 11:51am
@Tahmad what a stupid thing to say.
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A reader Jun 23, 2025 11:53am
The men in the comment section seem desperate to be able to ask women if they're pregnant and justify why men should be able to have potbellies. Please focus on your own bodies and leave women alone
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Laila Jun 23, 2025 12:18pm
@Jamil Soomro It's fairly normal to have a belly. That's the part of the body in which digestion takes place among other things. If you meant overweight, then there can be medical explanations. Such as gastro related issues which result in permanent bloatedness, enlarged intestines etc. You say it applies to both men and women. So what would the equivalent of the pregnancy question be for men? Are you obese? Sick? Lazy? I have never heard men be asked about their belly. Not even when it's protruding under neath their clothes.
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Laila Jun 23, 2025 12:42pm
@A Reader You must be new here. Welcome. On any given article related to women, women's rights, especially autonomy over their own bodies you will find majority comments from males. In Pakistan, it's 'women's bodies, men's choices'. So it is natural for males to dictate to females how we should look.
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M. Saeed Jun 23, 2025 01:34pm
@JAMIL SOOMRO: In the not so distant past, it was almost impossible to see a pregnant women in public view. They invariably wore loose dresses that would hide the pronounced features and keep the observers away from suggesting. Now, the very repulsive fashion in entertainment industry, to show the Baby-Bump as a pride, has changed the general behavior of the women, making them bold enough to follow the celebrity trends!
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Laila Jun 23, 2025 02:09pm
Reasons why women have bellies: Genetics Hormonal changes Lifestyle choices (including diet, stress etc) Medical conditions like gastric issues, PCOS etc. Pregnancy Ageing It may come as a surprise to some but females bodies change. They don't stay the same. It's just nature. Has nothing to do with obesity, overweight etc. Males bodies change too and the male potbelly isn't exactly attractive to ladies either.
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Aisha Bashir Jun 23, 2025 03:50pm
@Jamil Soomro, why would you like to know about such private happening in someone's life? If its ethical and normal for you, you must have been telling your friends/colleagues every time your mother/sister/daughter must have been pregnant.
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