A woman has shared how she was recently out shopping in a DIY store when she was approached by an older lady, who put her hand on her pregnancy bump and asked how far along she was.
Danielle Fraser, who lives in Australia, says she looked the woman in the eye and pushed her hand off her belly.
The mum-to-be recounted the awkward encounter on TikTok, where she posts under the name @theaveragewifeau, explaining how she'd been shopping in Bunnings when it happened.
She said: "So I'm in Bunnings. This lady - she's not old old, but she's probably 60 - put her hand on my stomach and went, "Oh, how far are you?"
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here.
"I grabbed her hand, looked her in the eye, pushed it off and went 'I'm not pregnant' and then waddled away.
"I'm like nine months gone at this point, but don't touch me."
Danielle's video has since been viewed over 337,000 times and garnered over 43,000 likes and thousands of comments.
Many people agreed with her stance that it was inappropriate to touch a stranger without their consent - however, not everyone agreed with Danielle's reaction.
One person replied: "I never understood why people just touch a pregnant lady's belly? My wife got so agitated that I'd try to intervene when I could."
Another said: "I don't understand why a complete stranger thinks it's OK to go up and touch someone's stomach?"
A third wrote: "Good on you mama! I honestly don’t know what people think actually gives them the right to touch someone else without their permission."
A fourth shared how they reacted to strangers touching their bump, saying: "When I was pregnant I just put my hand on the person's stomach and stared blankly. We were just holding each other's stomachs."
But someone else proclaimed: "'Oh how terrible some lovely lady touching your stomach. God what's the problem?"
"I get it people shouldn't touch but I think it comes from a place of excitement at thought of new life. I try to educate not belittle," admitted a different user.
A sixth person added: "That was a bit mean. Boundaries are real but she meant no harm."
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
