If a woman doesn't have a sign around her neck declaring pregnancy, do not ever assume that she's pregnant. And because of that uncertainty, people just need to keep their mouths shut.
Case in point: At the post office yesterday, in a long, crowded line, a 60-something woman said to the 40-something woman in front of her, "Well, this is crowded. Not much space for you and the baby." The other one says, loudly as she pulls out her sweatshirt and shifts her weight, "Oh, I'm not pregnant. I'm just fat." She kind of barked a laugh, too. The falsely observant one reaches out and touches the not-pregnant's arm and apologizes, but then makes a show of her own girth, fluffs out her blouse and tries to make it less uncomfortable by continuing to talk, "Not that I have any right to say anything, I mean, look at me." And then she keeps talking, "It's because my dad taught me how to cook. ... Blah, blah, blah."
At that point, I just stopped listening, because I couldn't believe that this woman was continuing to speak at all. I don't know how awkward she felt, but I know I was cringing at every word she said. How she managed to not just leave the building in an embarrassed flurry, I don't know. What I do know is that both those women must have had weird days following: one was afraid to speak at all, and the other was uncomfortable in her obviously unflattering sweatshirt.
The whole experience did little more than confirm to me the solid truth behind this rule: If you don't know the woman, and know for a fact that she's pregnant, keep your mouth shut. Just assume that every woman with a belly, who doesn't wear a shirt saying, "I'M PREGNANT," just has a big belly. That'll save a whole lot of uncomfortableness and awkward foot-in-mouth situations.
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