I have this theory (supported by evidence) that the ways in which pregnant women feel about their 'bumps'/pregnant bodies is directly linked to whether the pregnancy was 'wanted'/'planned' or not.
Two very interesting examples of the above just fell in my lap(top).
1) Nicole Kidman: extremely outwardly excited to be pregnant and is happy to 'show off' her growing belly at every opportunity, an 'older' mother who has said numerous times that she has been trying to get pregnant for years
2) Jamie Lynn Spears: hidden from public view since her pregnancy announcement, wearing baggy clothes, avoiding having her photograph taken. According to new reports (and this is very sad), Jamie Lynn is having severe body image issues and has taken to wrapping Ace bandages around her stomach to hide her 'bump'. No longer is she just the 'cute teen', she's a pregnant teenager.
This is very interesting and evidences my theory very nicely. Both women are 5 months pregnant (although have to say Nicole does look extremely small for 5 months!). Nicole has described her pregnancy as very much wanted and in the works for many years. Jamie Lynn is 16, and whilst no one will ever know if the pregnancy was 'wanted', I think most of us would guess that, for all intents and purposes, this pregnancy was not 'planned' or at least part of her life plans at such a young age.
Whereas Nicole is proud to show off her changing body, Jamie Lynn understandably looks as though she is in denial of her situation. I noticed very similar situations in my own research. For younger women who had 'surprise' pregnancies, it often took them a very long time to come to terms with being pregnant. They often told me they didn't 'feel' pregnant until they were much bigger in size and also had a chance to bond with the baby more. For 'older' women who had been trying to fall pregnant for ages, they were ready to push out their bellies and tell the world they were pregnant from the moment they found out.
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