Nowadays, we're pretty much able to share every small detail about our lives, whether anyone wants to know it or not. It's not just celebrities who have a tendency to overshare on Twitter or other social media platforms these days. I'm sure we've all seen photos of our friends uterus as ultrasound pictures are laid out for all to see. But of course, pregnancy gives a woman quite a lot to share. From morning sickness to pee stained sticks, we've all done it - posted a much more personal post than we'd normal pop up on our wall. In fact, some have started to take liberties with the incredible access to social media by tweeting extremely personal details right up to the birth of their child, some live tweeting the entire labour and birth!
But is it too much? Welcome to the world of oversharing and full disclosure to the absolute highest degree. We've come to a point in our lives where we either glaze over the random TMI posts on Twitter and Facebook or get infuriated by yet another post that really was absolutely not necessary to post up.
Yes, it can be great to hear that other women are suffering just the same as you, as you hurl into the toilet for the eleventh time that day. But on the other hand, scrolling through Twitter while you munch on your lunch-time chicken sandwich only to read about so-and-so's leaky boobs or mucous plug can be, well, a bit too much for some.
What do you make of these 15 TMI posts on social media? Too much or hilariously honest and brave? Are they OK to post or pushing the boundaries of privacy?
15 Busy Philipps And That Pee Stained Stick
Busy Philips, of Freaks and Geeks and Dawon's Creek fame, is not the first or last Mum-to-be to announce her pregnancy by flashing her positive pregnancy stick photo on Twitter. But is this kind of announcement, which is a lot simpler and quicker than some of the more extravagant announcements we see, just a bit too much and a bit too personal?
Let's face it, that stick has been peed on and we all know it. It's also at a usually fairly early stage in the pregnancy, with some pregnancy tests announcing exactly how many weeks along you are. It's certainly become one of the most used ways to announce your pregnancy to the world wide web, but let's just hope friends and family are informed first before they get a quick peek of your twitter feed as they clear away the breakfast dishes.
Sharing the post toilet break pee stick is perhaps not as much of an overshare as some people who have started to share Vlogs complete with little pots of urine and pee soaked sticks in full view of the camera. I understand that some people want to have the world involved to share their exciting news with them, pee or no pee. But surely the line has to be drawn somewhere? Shouldn't some things be kept private, just for you and your partner?
14 Oversharing Bladder Control
Ah yes, there it is, the bladder control posts. Pretty much one of the first things a pregnant woman feels comfortable to complain about... with the whole wide world. Yes, we all know that things get moved and pushed about in there quite a lot and our bladder becomes baby's first toy as it kicks and prods us into every bathroom we see, but do we really need to tell our hundreds, sometimes thousands of followers on Twitter or Facebook?
Yes, it looks like we do. There are countless posts surging through cyber space about pregnant woman and their inevitable fear of wetting themselves like a toddler. It happens, let the world know it, right? Well no! For many, any and all bowel functions should be kept private with the bathroom door firmly locked.
"Is it wrong that at 9 weeks I'm already looking at liners to absorb pee coz I'm afraid I'll tinkle on myself #pregnancy #peemonster #tmi"
At least this Mama recognised her sharing was a little more information than we needed and added the TMI hashtag. Is this sort of post too much information for you?
13 Jessica Simpson's Incredible Honesty
Jessica Simpson is the Queen of TMI and let's be honest, we pretty much love her for it. Her raw and unedited interviews and tweets can send us spiraling into a fit of giggles or a massive chorus of "Ewwwww, too much Jessica!" Either way, it's hard not to love her for her honesty.
From telling us on Twitter about her crazy pregnancy dreams, "Oh my God, y'all. I just had a daydream that my vagina ate a bag of Skittles!" to her beginnings of pregnancy weight gain, "Woke up looking like the lip injection fairy visited me in the night! Is this how pregnancy face begins? Yikes," we love her and admire her honesty. But wow, some things can certainly be left behind closed doors Jessica.
How could we ever expect Jessica to hold back when she is able to so flippantly discuss her "Swamp Ass" with Jay Leno and his millions of viewers?
"I just started calling myself Swamp Ass. Like I have 'swamp ass' right now. I had major swamp ass because I was wearing these Spanx to hold in my gut. It's like the bayou up in that region."
And of course don't forget her brutal honesty with Ryan Seacrest and her love of intimacy during pregnancy, "I'm kind of unstoppable right now. The Big O is, like, the biggest O ever!" You certainly are unstoppable Jessica.
12 The Leaky Boob
If you've ever experienced breastfeeding then you are sure to know that it comes with it's fair share of awkward and sometimes embarrassing moments from nip slips to leaky books in public. Of course, these things are nothing to be embarrassed about, and they happen to the best of us. A normal occurrence in everyday breastfeeding.
However, if you are not involved in seeing a tiny human feed from a bigger human then you may think that some Mum's oversharing of their breastfeeding and lactating experiences on social media can be a bit too much. Much like this soon-to-be Mum who shared the envitable occurence of boob leakage on poor old partner, Monty, "TMI but my tit just leaked on Monty's face when he came in for a cuddle, pregnancy for ya X"
Boob leakage, too much information? Definitely, when your scrolling through twitter chowing down on your morning cereal.
11 Who Let Rip?
I'm not sure blurting out "TMI but having mega wind issues! ? Pregnancy is funny isn't it?" on Twitter is acceptable at any stage of pregnancy... or life in general. Keep your flatulance issues to yourself please. This is just one of a gazillion tweets I came across for poor unfortunate pregnant women who are suffering a tirade of wind issues.
Unfortunately, for me, this kind of tweet is simply too much information and makes it harder for me to swallow my Dark Mocha. Now, I'm left with the unnecessary information of someone else's farts. Exactly what I needed. Knowing you don't care about oversharing your sensitive issues with me doesn't help as I came across another TMI pregnant Mama who decided to tell us "Pregnancy gives you gas like 24/7 so sometimes idk if it's the baby kicking my insides or just gas. tmi. I know. I don't care."
And yes, once again Jessica Simpson shared some extra tidbits of info for us on pregnancy flatulance on Twitter. How can we ever forget that the average person expels gas fifteen times a day, but the average pregnant woman farts fifteen times that. Again, thank you for the overshare Jessica and every other farting pregnant woman out there.
10 The Pregnant Groomer
We do not need to know any details, whatsoever, about your difficulties with grooming, thank you very much. We realise that there comes a stage in a pregnant woman's life when the bump becomes so big that you are unable to see your own feet let alone anything else. We can imagine the awkwardness and hurdles faced when attempting to groom. We do not, however, need updates on your varying stages of bump size and ability to shave, wax or pluck. Your nether regions are none of our business, and let's be honest, discussing any grooming technique over Twitter or Facebook is simply too much information. No one told these Twitter users who decided their followers needed to share their forests and pain.
"TMI, but I've reached the part of my pregnancy where my stomach has become too large for me to see my vagina while shaving. Joy!"
"Y'all tmi but, I decided to just get waxed....worst decision I made this whole pregnancy"
9 Enlarged And Sore
"My boobs hurt so bad. I don't remember them feeling like this w/ my first pregnancy. TMI but I'm in pain and need to vent :("
Absolutely, vent away. Just not to us. Your Twitter cohort does not need to know how badly those breasts hurt. Yes, breast pain is a bad side effect of pregnancy and every pregnant woman know's it hurts like hell. Anyone who tries to touch them will get a side swipe to the face and sharpish.
From lactating, going up a cup size or two, and sore or cracked nipples, it's all simply too much information and we do not need to know. Vent to your Mum, your sister, or your partner, not to the anonymous world of Twitter or Facebook. Thank you very much.
8 Keep It Private Please
It's pretty obvious but any and all intimate details about your sex life should be kept away from social media. No one seems to have told these two Twitter users though (and a hundred others).
"Maybe tmi but was anyone else ever scared when having sex during pregnancy I know it can't hurt the baby but I still feel like it might lol"
"TMI pregnancy question time! Does my baby's head resting on my pubic bone diminish the sensation of my orgasms because I have FRUSTRATIONS."
Let's face it, there is quite a lot in our lives that really needs to remain private. They are done in private for a reason, sometimes under lock and key. Why do so many think that it is perfectly acceptable to share personal information on a social network? Worse still, many people don't even consider their privacy settings and who knows exactly who is reading your tweets or Facebook posts. If in doubt, don't post it! Our sex lives are exactly that, ours. It does not mean that your neighbour, local grocer or hundreds of twitter followers want to share in those details. Keep those "frustrations" to yourself and if you have a question, ask your OB/GYN please.
7 Yikes We Don't Need The Deets On Bowel Movement
Clearly, the oversharing of bodily functions is not going to end for pregnant women. Perhaps, it's more to do with the fact that misery loves company so by oversharing, all suffering pregnant women lure us in for sympathy and empathy. Well, when you tell us about your struggles with a big old number two, then I'm sorry all sympathy goes out the window. As one (and a million others like her) Mum-to-be shared on Twitter recently, "Pregnancy TMI!(because it happens and its common so be prepared?): but after a week of not being able to poop and you finally do ??" And another chimed in with "Tmi: but after pregnancy laxatives are your best friend"
All I can say is, I really, really, really did not need to know that. Surely posts like this should be left out. If you ever have an urge to write and post a tweet or facebook status like this one, just don't. Type out, get it out of your system, then delete it. Your friends, your family, the hundreds of strangers who don't know you and certainly don't want to know about your bodily functions, do not need to read this on their feed.
6 Just No, No, Just Too Much
By far, the worst offender on the too much information scale is this personal tweet which shot out of nowhere destroying every bit of pregnancy innocence I have (and I've had two children!) "TMI but I woke up this morning and went to go have a shower & noticed discharge (stringy and not too long) came out! Is this mucous plug?"
Now, is that really necessary to ask such a personal question of your twitter followers? Let's face it, twitter is epic so the majority of your followers will not know you, will probably not care that you're pregnant and will most certainly not want to know the details about what is coming out of you.
This is certainly an overshare overload which would result in quite a lot of unfollows if you ask me. If you want to keep your follower numbers, I recommend avoiding using words like mucous and plug in the same tweet.
5 #BabyBiggs Live Birth
Jason Biggs and his wife, Jenny Mollen, are not the first and won't be the last to significantly overshare the birth of their child. In 2014, Biggs and Mollen celebrated the birth of their first baby Sid with a plethora of Instagram shots from early labour right up to surgery with a C Section.
The extremely intimate posts show Mollen in various positions from being in labour pain and being wheeled into theatre, to getting an epidural and asleep on a hefty dose of painkillers. Surely this is far too much to be sharing with a band of followers regardless of how famous or popular you are.
The birth of your child is a very personal and exciting time. Recording it is only natural but instantly uploading those images to a fanbase is a little crude. To each their own I suppose, but for me, the birth of my children will always remain a precious and special time just for my family.
4 Nope, Can't Unsee This One
"End of pregnancy is slightly scary bc idk @ what point I'm going to pop ?
Did my water just break or did I pee the bed ???????? #tmi #ikno"
Yes, pregnancy is quite terrifying, with all of it's unknowns, changes and incredible WTF moments. But those moments are certainly ones you should keep to yourself. Tweeting about whether you're unsure if your waters have broken or whether it's your wonderful lack of bladder control is most certainly not necessary on a public platform.
We know you are pregnant, we know you are reaching that frightening forty week mark, we do not need to know about your waters, mucous plug or contractions, thank you very much. Reign yourself in when writing out those long TMI tweets, in fact just delete them!
3 Kevin Jonas Pushing
Kevin Jonas famously became a proud father for the second time and let the world know with a string of tweets that were not necessarily vulgar but were definitely unnecessary. While his wife was in the midst of contractions and labour, Jonas was tweeting. Telling his followers with an incredible amount of excitement that his baby daughter was on the way, Jonas declared "We're pushing" on twitter.
I do wonder if Jonas managed to whip off a couple of text messages to his nearest and dearest letting them know first that his wife was in labor and that their baby was on the way. Or did he expect his family and close friends to find out the special news the same way as his fanbase and irrelevant followers on Twitter and Instagram?
Bear in mind, his live tweets about the birth of his daughter were also sponsored by Dreft, a laundry detergent... hmm adding a new level to tacky there.
2 Vanessa Lacey's Naked Bump
Now, some might say that this is perfectly acceptable and the incredible capability of a woman's body during pregnancy should be recognised and praised. Others might say, that revealing so much when you wouldn't ordinarily, or unless you are on the beach or by the pool, is simply too much.
Perhaps, it's more the case that we simply don't need to see the burgeoning belly bump in all it's glory. Is baring skin too personal, too much for many of you? Does it blur the lines between being vulgar and celebratory? Surely, the same message can easily be portrayed in a more flattering way perhaps?
Bump pics are generally all the rage these days. just look at Beyonce who revealed she was pregnant with twins this year. While the world, and by that I mostly mean the cyber and celeb world, exploded when those pictures came out, do you think that they just a little too revealing? Too garish? Too much and unnecessary?
1 The Ultrasound
And if the sight of a large pregnant belly is too much for you then perhaps the oversharing of ultrasounds is equally too much. Some deem posting your latest sonogram image to be on the verge of too much information. It is, after all, an image of your uterus, even if it is black and white and blurry. Personally, I don't mind these images too much and they have become quite a common way to announce a pregnancy.
I do however, think they are a personal and private thing as it is your growing baby. Add to that, the unknown complications that can occur throughout pregnancy considering most people tend to post their first ultrasound picture which can be taken anywhere from eight to twenty weeks. Also, abnormalities which may not yet have been recognised, may be highlighted later on down the road changing the emphasis of the scan picture. It's not exactly appropriate to post up your ultrasound picture but also not grotesque. Some may disagree as many seem not to approve of these kinds of posts but we all come across them and they are very common place these days.