My point was not to suggest that everyone who touches a woman's pregnant bump is intending harm. I understand that the folks on this thread didn't mean to cause a problem. And I thank you for contributing to the thread. The issue is that intention doesn't actually matter; it remains a boundary violation regardless. It's no more appropriate to reach out and touch a pregnant woman's abdomen than it is to do the same to a woman who is not pregnant. Similarly, you wouldn't reach out and take food off another woman's (or man's) plate, right? There's a boundary there. If you're having dinner with a friend, and her fries look particularly delicious, you might ask if you may try one. But you wouldn't just grab one. And you wouldn't ask a stranger for some of their fries, right?

I created the thread because my sister and a friend both experienced unwanted touching during their pregnancies. And I've seen it happen several times recently in my own life as well as on TV. My sister and friend did not know what to do because they were so shocked when it happened....they froze and then felt violated for the rest of the day.

This seems like something which could be easily corrected in society if we start talking about it. Nobody has a right to touch anyone else's body without consent...whether curious about a baby or not. Why assume that a woman wants you to connect with or feel her baby? I also don't think it's a good idea to ask to touch the bump (though that's at least better than doing it without consent) because that is something that should be offered, not requested.

There's a growing body of research on the importance of bodily autonomy....particularly training children to be mindful of it at a young age. It is an important step in preparing them both to respect others' boundaries but also so they know how to ask for help if someone is violating their boundaries. Two groups in society often do not have their bodily autonomy respected: children and women. Nobody would walk up to a man and pat his head or stroke his abdomen. But a lot of people think this is okay to do to a child or a pregnant woman. It's not. We need to respect the bodily autonomy of women and children just as much as we do with men.