Eliana Rodriguez was very happy when she found out that she was expecting her second child and she was happy to share pictures of herself on social media. Much to her surprise, however, some users heaped insults on her and shamed her for her unusually sized and shaped belly. However, she rose above the ᴄʀɪᴛɪᴄɪsᴍ.
The unusually large and protruding belly of 29-year-old Eliana Rodriguez from Las Vegas has attracted people’s interest, but unfortunately, often not in a good way. A few weeks before the birth of her second child, Sebastian, she shared a video that quickly went viral in which she responded to negative comments she received from people in person or online.
She used Doja Cat’s hit song Say So as the background music to answer rude questions and comments like, “Why does your belly look like that?” or, “That’s the worst pregnant belly I’ve ever seen.”
Throughout her pregnancy, Eliana responded to comments honestly and politely, saying she totally understands people’s curiosity. “I was never impolite in my answers. I said, ‘Yes, I’m huge and it’s heavy,’” she said. She also added that online comments were much easier for her to ignore than those she received in person.
She explained that it was no surprise to her that she had a large and prominent belly, as she had experienced the same during her first pregnancy when she was expecting a daughter named Sofia.
There were also some commenters who were genuinely concerned about the woman’s health, as they thought that her unusually large belly could indicate a ᴅɪsᴏʀᴅᴇʀ called ᴘᴏʟʏʜʏᴅʀᴀᴍɪɴᴏɴ, which means that the amount of ᴀᴍɴɪᴏᴛɪᴄ ꜰʟᴜɪᴅ is too high. Although this condition is not very ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs, it can lead to premature birth.
Eliana said that the doctors did detect a lot of ᴀᴍɴɪᴏᴛɪᴄ ꜰʟᴜɪᴅ, but not enough to cause concern. At the same time, the doctors checked the size of the fetus and confirmed that both it and the mother are completely healthy.
Some users speculated that the baby’s birth weight could exceed 4 and a half kilos, but Eliana’s little boy was finally born at 3.7 kilos. Likewise, Eliana’s daughter was born weighing 3.8 kilos, which according to doctors is completely average.
However, the mother would not have been surprised if her children had weighed more, as she revealed that her husband was born weighing 4 and a half kilos.
Although Eliana’s confidence didn’t seem to be shaken by the negative comments, she admitted that she used to wonder why her belly was bigger than other pregnant women’s. “My doctors said it was normal because I’m only 150cm and have a shorter upper body,” she explained.
Although she managed to stay positive, she wished people would keep their hurtful comments to themselves. She also added that these comments can easily lead to negative thoughts, as women already feel more vulnerable during pregnancy.
“I know some people lack compassion, but I’m a woman of faith and I feel really bad that people can make such hateful comments,” she said.
However, despite the negative comments, she remained positive and open throughout and wanted to share her joy with the whole world.
“I was so excited to share this – we were trying for a second baby and were hoping it would be a boy,” she explained.