The sight of a growing belly is truly heartwarming, and it’s natural for many to want to show their affection. But it’s just as natural if you don’t want to be touched. And if you find yourself more uncomfortable with this as your pregnancy progresses, that’s perfectly normal: these are maternal instincts kicking in, reshaping your brain and even changing how you sense the space around you to protect your baby.
They Experience Their Surroundings Differently
A new study shows that in the third trimester, pregnant women’s “personal safety bubble” — the space where they prefer not to have others — expands, making them uncomfortable when strangers or even acquaintances enter it.
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University and Addenbrooke’s Hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department wanted to see if mothers’ sense of personal space changes during pregnancy.
Personal space is the area immediately around our bodies, generally extending about an arm’s length.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, surveyed 85 pregnant women aged 21 to 43 at 20 and 34 weeks of pregnancy, and again 8 weeks after giving birth.
During an audio-tactile test, participants felt touches on their belly while exposed to background noise through speakers. The researchers also tested a control group of non-pregnant women. The results showed that personal space perception increases in the third trimester.
The Brain Changes to Protect the Baby
The researchers suggest this is a protective mechanism to shield the vulnerable belly from harm caused by nearby objects or people.
Dr. Flavia Cardini, lead psychology lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University and the study’s lead author, explains that the expanded personal space is “the brain’s way of keeping danger at bay.”
Pregnancy brings massive, rapid changes both inside and outside the body.
Dr. Cardini notes that when the body “undergoes significant change” during pregnancy, the “maternal brain” also adjusts how it perceives the immediate environment, so pregnant women experience their personal space differently than usual.
The researchers found that these altered perceptions aren’t present in the second trimester or eight weeks postpartum, meaning this effect is specific to the last, most physically vulnerable stage of pregnancy.
So here’s another reason not to touch a pregnant belly without permission — beyond the basic respect for personal boundaries, you might actually cause discomfort or distress to the mom-to-be.
