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When you’re offered a seat on public transit...but you’re not pregnant

Ever been on the subway, minding your own business, when some well-intentioned (yet presumptuous) stranger offers you and your non-existent baby a seat? These buttons would help clear up some of the confusion.

When you’re offered a seat on public transit...but you’re not pregnant

Last week, New York City’s public transit system, the MTA, announced that it's offering free “Baby on Board” buttons to pregnant women from now until Labour Day (September 4). It hopes that riders will offer a seat to women wearing one.

The MTA isn’t the first to offer a button to help transit users get a seat. The subway in London, England has had a similar program since 2005; Kate Middleton helped promote it when she was pregnant with Prince George. The public transit system in Busan, South Korea, tried something similar last year. It was way more high tech than a simple button, involving sensors and flashing lights, but the idea behind it was the same.

We’re not convinced the buttons will take off among pregnant New Yorkers. It's just such an intimate thing to wear on your sweater, and kind of like announcing: "Hey, world, here's what's going on in my uterus right now!"

That said, these buttons would help prevent another pregnancy-related issue that happens on the bus and subway: When you get offered a seat because someone thinks you're pregnant, and you are not. This happens to women ALL. THE. TIME. It's so tricky. On the one hand, we all want to live in a society where people look out for others. On the other hand, we don't want our bodies evaluated. And even though no woman should be ashamed if her belly protrudes, it just doesn't feel good when someone inaccurately puts it down to there being a whole other person in there.

So we came up with some new buttons that we think transit riders might also need to see.

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not pregnant button burrito baby

Because sometimes a pregnant-looking belly is actually just proof of a delicious lunch. Ain't no shame in second helpings!

not pregnant button post baby belly (if you were wondering)

Apparently many people aren't aware that after you have a baby, you still look pregnant for, like, a good long a while. Sometimes it's fat, sometimes it's diastasis recti, sometimes it's both. Society really needs to understand this. For the most part, unless literally you see a tiny human exiting a woman's vagina, please do not assume she is pregnant.

not pregnant button all bloat, no baby

PMS is a thing.

i'm not pregnant by your manspreading is still not okay

#stopthemanspreading

not pregnant button just hiding the toilet paper i stole from work

There are all sorts of reasons a woman's belly might protrude. No one should ever assume they know what's in there.

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Read more: Your postpartum body—what to expect The secret superpowers of all pregnant women 

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Kim is a freelance writer, editor and content director in the greater Toronto area. She is currently a content editor for Korn Ferry. Her work can also be found in MSN Canada, Tinybeans, Allergic Living Magazine and Cottage Life.

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