Strollerderby : pregnant woman

Pregnant Woman Booted from Local Pub

KeriF — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:35:00 GMT

It's hard out here for a pregnant lady.

When Caroline Williams, 26, went out to unwind with friends at her local pub in East Sussex, England, she didn't plan on making a scene. After her first pint of lager, she decided she'd allow herself another half-pint.

Unfortunately, the pub had other ideas.

When Caroline's friend went to order the half-pint, he was refused service because the drink was for Caroline, visibly pregnant at 5 months. When Caroline took a sip of a friend's drink, she and her friends were kicked to the curb.

"I never felt so singled out and humiliated in my life," said Caroline. "I've never been ordered out of anywhere before and I'm not one to cause a scene, so we just left."

The assistant manageress (really? I thought "manager" was gender neutral) confirmed to The Daily Mail that she had asked Caroline to leave, describing her as "a heavily pregnant lady who was drinking alcohol."

However, a spokesman for the company that owns the Sussex Cricketeers pub apologized. "While the team member may have believed she was acting with her own good intentions, she did not handle the situation in an appropriate manner."

What do you think? Was the pub out of line?

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Male Blogger: Laboring Mom Not a 'True Emergency'

JeanneSager — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:56:00 GMT

You're about to give birth to your second child. Your contractions are three minutes apart and holding steady. Oh yeah, and your car is stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. What are you going to do now?

According to a blogger at the Volokh Conspiracy, you call an ambulance and meet them at the next exit because, well, he doesn't consider this a "true emergency." Excuse me, David Bernstein, do you want to deliver a baby in the middle of the Mass Turnpike? Methinks you'd be yelling "help, emergency," about then.

I hate to take anything into the "man" vs. "woman" range, but this is one of those examples of a guy climbing on his high horse to tell us how a pregnant woman's body is going to work. Hate to tell you buddy, even WE don't know how the whole birth process is going to go. Bernstein's prime evidence for why he thinks Jennifer and John Davis were reckless and refused to just call an ambulance? The baby didn't come for another five hours.

Think of that. A baby that came in its own darn good time. No wonder they call the site the Volokh CONSPIRACY.

Alright, maybe I'm taking this a little hard. I actually have never had the frantic drive to the hospital. My labor had to be induced to encourage my daughter to come out of her comfy little cave. I agonized about the possibilities because of the area where I live and the timing of my due date: we're nearly a half hour from the hospital, and I was set to deliver right around the Memorial Day holiday in a highly trafficked tourist area.

I also dealt with a highly put out male co-worker who wanted to plan a vacation, and couldn't believe that our editor couldn't pin down a date when I'd begin my maternity leave. I was still working the day before I went into the hospital to have a nurse begin my pitocin drip. Trust me, I tried my darndest to get her moving earlier. She had the same stubborn streak then that makes for such pleasant morning interactions now.

Or maybe it's simply being a parent that made me feel for the Davises. In the Boston Herald article Bernstein took to task for its pro-parent tone, Jennifer Davis says her husband maneuvered into the breakdown lane to continue the rush to the hospital. Two state troopers gave them the go-ahead to keep going. A third, however, detained the couple and went back to his cruiser to look up John Davis' driving record (six traffic infractions in twenty years, by the way), and made them wait until he was done writing out another motorist's ticket. He then quizzed the contracting Jennifer, making her unzip her jacket to prove she really had a pregnant belly under there. He finally issued a citation before letting the couple go - the $100 bill arrived in the mail the other day.

The Davises, by the way, had actually pulled over to ask the trooper if they could continue in the lane to the exit where they'd get off and choose another route to the hospital. This was hardly the case of a trooper pulling over a speeding driver in the breakdown lane and diligently investigating suspicious activity. This was a police officer forgetting his mission is to protect AND serve.

Yes, I'm taking the side of the parents in this one too. Now what do you want to bet David Bernstein will find a conspiracy here?

Image: Boston Herald

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Pregnant Woman Apprehends a Thief

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The first thing 32-year-old Nadine Bevis did after she found out that she was pregnant was—stop a knife-wielding thief. Perhaps pregnancy hormones contain some crime busting agents.

Driving home from the doctor’s office, Bevis saw a man grab a boy’s bike. She immediately pulled over, got out of the car, and rushed toward the would-be thief. Even though the man was carrying two knives, Bevis was too pissed to be scared. “I can still see the boy’s poor little face,” she said. “He couldn’t catch his breath he was crying so much.”

Bevis blocked the assailant’s path, said, “Smile for the camera,” and snapped a photo of the man, named John King. Two other passersby then tackled the man to the ground, disarming him and restraining him until police arrived. King has admitted to the robbery and now faces a lengthy prison sentence.

The 14-year-old victim, who was very shaken up by the attempted theft, has said that he hopes he gets a chance to thank his real-life guardian angels in person.

Although Bevis realizes she was putting herself in danger, she has no regrets about intervening. “Too many people stand by and let this happen—I wasn’t going to be one of them,” she said. “Otherwise thugs will think they can get away with it.”

Not if there are any expectant mothers around, they won’t.

Image: Flickr

Pregnant Woman Commits a Kick Ass Citizen's Arrest

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

A Canadian woman named Amanda Bourque is being hailed a national hero—and she’s crediting her raging pregnancy hormones. After witnessing a Pontiac Grand Prix swerve onto the sidewalk, sending garbage cans flying, a super pregnant Bourque gave chase. She was pretty sure the Grand Prix was being commandeered by either a drunkard or a three-year-old and she resolved to get him off the road as soon as possible.

For ten minutes, Bourque, nine months pregnant, trailed the erratic driver, who tried to dodge her, but to no avail. Eventually, the driver crashed into another car. Bourque used her own car to sandwich him in, and the alleged drunk driver was apprehended by police. Of her vehicular heroics, Bourque commented, “I was so mad that he tried to run me off the road, just absolutely furious. And being hormonal, it’s a little bit worse.”

The Ontario Police Constable has said she’ll nominate Bourque for a public service award. But I’m thinking bigger. Adventures of SuperPreggo comic book, anyone?

Photo: Pawel Dwulit/Windsor Star

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2008/07/15/pregnant-woman-apprehends-a-thief.aspx