IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Women share their hilarious responses to unsolicited pregnancy advice

After shutting down a stranger who questioned her order at Starbucks, a pregnant woman sparked a cathartic Twitter thread with other moms.
/ Source: TODAY

Jaclene Paolucci is six months pregnant and can’t stomach one more piece of unsolicited advice.

“If I don’t ask for it, I don’t want it,” the mom-to-be explained on Twitter.

But one stranger didn’t get the memo. Paolucci recalled their awkward interaction in a tweet that has gone viral with more than 703,000 likes.

In a follow-up tweet, Paolucci noted that “no one should ever EVER just assume a stranger is pregnant.”

The New Yorker's experience sparked an epic Twitter thread with people sharing stories about their own encounters while pregnant.

“A male coworker once said to me as I was eating a McDonald’s cheeseburger and fries, You should eat something healthy, like a salad,” responded one woman. “I was vegetarian up until my 6th month, I literally hadn’t had McDs in 15+ years. I looked at him as I shoved it in my mouth and said SHUT UP ERIC.”

Another wrote:

"Me drinking a small glass of wine while 8 months pregnant

"Stranger: Should you be drinking that?

"Me: No, but my parole officer never comes in here."

Other experiences ranged from guffaw-worthy to cringe-worthy.

Many were quick to point out that the shaming doesn’t stop after you give birth. As one woman recalled, “I was breastfeeding & an old woman came up to say I ought to go to the washroom. I just said, ‘I’m so sorry abt your neck.” She said there’s nothing wrong w/her neck. So I replied, 'then turn your damn head & look away or there soon will be.' She was so flustered, she left.”

Never miss a parenting story with the TODAY Parenting newsletter! Sign up here.

As for Paolucci, she had every right to order a coffee. Studies have shown that it’s safe to have coffee in pregnancy as long it's limited to about one to two 8-ounce cups a day. (Excessive intake might produce a low-weight baby, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.)

“A little bit is not going to hurt your unborn child,” Dr. Jill Hechtman, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Tampa, Florida, previously told TODAY Parents. “It’s completely safe.