Top 12 Rudest Questions to Ask Expectant Parents

Madeline Holler — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:29:00 GMT

Man, people are rude! Or stupid! Or insensitive! Or all three!

This Washington Post list of the Top 10 Rudest Questions is stunning. Yet it also has a few holes in it, since only one of these rude questions involves pregnancy or parenting. I don't know about you, but some of the rudest questions my husband and I have encountered were during my pregnancies.

With the help of others at Strollerderby, I've compiled a list of doozies. But surely you've heard worse. Add them in the the comments!

12. To the mother of twins or an older mother: We're they "natural"?

11. To the mother of more than one kid: Are you sure you can handle that many?

10. Regarding finding out the sex of the baby before birth: Don't you want to be surprised? (Or its smug alternative: Some surprises are simply worth waiting for.)

9. To the expectant father: Is it yours? (Or the shitty, shitty alternative to the unmarried pregnant gal: Do you know who the father is?)

8. To the rather large childbearer of a singleton: Are you having twins? Then: "Damn! You're huge!" when the answer is "no."

7. To unmarried parent-couples: When are you getting married?

6. To the parents of a girl/girls on announcing a subsequent pregnancy: Going for a boy, eh? (Alternately, to mamas of boys: I bet you're hoping for a girl!)

5. To a woman who is in her 30s or older, who has just announced she is pregnant: "Are you getting an amnio?" or "Wow! How old are you?"

4. To the woman who has just disclosed that after much research and careful consideration, she has planned a VBAC/scheduled c-section/homebirth/birth with a midwife attending/water birth/birth with an OB attending/unassisted birth/birth with meds/birth without meds/birth in the Caspian Sea/birth at zero-gravity: "Are you crazy?"

3. While performing an ultrasound for the purposes of determining the due date of an unplanned pregnancy, it is not appropriate for the tech, who is also particularly adept at figuring out the date-of-conception and nearest holidays and or major weather events, to ask: So, did things get a little out of hand New Year's Eve/at a Memorial Day BBQ/Valentine's Day/during the blizzard. Etc.

2. To the 42-weeks pregnant mom, who just told you she's been pregnant for 42 weeks and is worried as it is her first pregnancy: Are you sure? You don't look at all full term. (As if YOU are a fucking expert!)

1. "When are you going to have the baby?" to the weepy woman pushing a newborn in a stroller.

Photo: Boston.com

Strollerderby : top 10 rudest questions

Top 12 Rudest Questions to Ask Expectant Parents