There are a multitude of reasons why a woman or couple could choose to hide their pregnancy. If the woman is planning on giving the baby up for adoption, or she’s simply a surrogate mother she may not want to explain her reasoning to people and feels it is simpler to just hide the fact that she is pregnant. A woman may have also experienced loss in the form of a miscarriage in early pregnancy before, so she wants to keep this one under wraps until she’s further along. Perhaps, she has a mother or mother-in-law telling her she has too many children or that they just “knew you would have another.” Maybe she simply doesn’t want everyone’s opinions and judgments any sooner than she has to hear them.

Whatever a woman’s reason for hiding her pregnancy it is up to her and should be respected. It is, after all her body. If someone notes it changing, what gives them the right to ask why that is? Plus, no one wants to be the person to ask a woman if she’s pregnant only to find out she’s not and is very offended by the rude questioning. Regardless of why a woman may be hiding her pregnancy, it is important the she knows some ways to hide it if that’s what makes her feel more comfortable.

15 Just Lie

Lying may seem like a ridiculous idea, but hear it out. People lie to each other all the time (unfortunately), and while no lie is a good lie, but if a mother just can’t bear to share her exciting news yet, lying may be required. We’ve all had someone lie to our face, and unless we were incredibly close to them, we probably didn’t call them out on it. It’s uncomfortable to push someone out of their comfort zone and if for some reason a person doesn’t want to tell the truth, most people will just let it be.

Sometimes people just absolutely won’t stop dropping hints and questioning whether a woman is pregnant. In these cases, maybe the mother should just look them in the eye and talk about how they just got their period. Sure, that is uncomfortable and may seem extreme, but it should most likely stop the incessant questioning. Sometimes a person may just feel more comfortable keeping their baby under wraps for a while and lying may be required in these cases.

14 Blame The Burrito Baby

We’ve all eaten too much food at lunch, especially at that one beloved burrito chain. It can leave a person feeling bloated and sometimes even looking a few months pregnant. Yet, there are still plenty of people that regularly overeat during lunch and head back to work with a burrito baby.

While always blaming the burrito baby on the suddenly expanding midsection may seem implausible, it is really not. If people see a woman eating a big lunch or talking about a huge breakfast, they may just think she is gaining weight because she has been eating excessively. A woman can work with this to hide the bump for at least a little while, especially if she talks about how bloated she has been feeling after meals and joking about it.

13 Dress To Conceal

That old saying “dress to impress” gets replaced during pregnancy with dress to conceal. Most women, and men for that matter, have tried on an outfit only to feel they look fat in it. The trick while hiding pregnancy is avoiding those outfits and sticking with ones that are more concealing.

Dressing to conceal is fairly simple. All those same rules of dressing to look thinner apply to concealing a baby bump too. For example, vertical stripes are great for making a person look thinner, whereas horizontal will make a person look thicker than they actually are. However, dressing to conceal only works early in the pregnancy while the bump is still fairly small.

12 Hide Out

While hiding may seem immature and unrealistic, it’s in some way kind of genius. Skipping out on invitations and unnecessary trips out can give a pregnant woman much needed time for extra rest and reprieve. Early pregnancy usually has the most extreme nausea and sleepiness, so this time of “hiding” can be quite relaxing and restorative actually.

So how exactly can a person get out of all these event invites? Well, they usually won’t even need to lie. They can simply say their stomach has been bothering them and they feel like they might get sick and need to stay home. A woman can even say she’s been working really hard lately and needs to get some extra rest while she has a little down time. Both of those excuses are very true for a pregnant woman.

11 Talk Openly About Recent Weight Gain

Most people don’t like to discuss their weight gain very openly. But we all know that one person who is usually very thin and constantly talking about how she “gained a little weight” and really needs to get back to the gym. While that person is usually slightly (okay, very) annoying, a woman trying to conceal her pregnancy can use this tactic.

To embrace the “I’m just fat” story, a woman will need to casually find a way to bring it up in conversation before she ever gets questioned about the expanding belly. If someone is talking about working out or eating a salad that would be a good time to bring up the story. Something along the lines of “I certainly need to eat some more salad myself,” should do the trick and hopefully keep people from questioning the pregnancy bump.

10 Change The Subject

So this one time I ran a half marathon. See what I did there? The subject is usually relatively easy to change. Although at times it can be awkward and noticeable when a person changes the subject so to keep the bump under wraps, a pregnant woman will have to be quick on her feet.

If a family member suddenly says “I noticed you’ve been sick a lot…” the expectant mother should jump in with “I know, I just can’t shake this cold, oh! Speaking of, did you hear about that new strain of the flu in Ohio?” Responses such as these are a good way to seamlessly change the subject away from the mother’s pregnancy and onto another related subject. While this won’t always be easy to do, especially with pregnancy brain, it is possible. When having trouble changing the subject ask the person something about them or their hobby, because people love to talk about themselves.

9 Dress In Dark Colors And Layers

Why do you always wear black? Plenty of people have heard that a lot. Some people just wear a lot of dark colors. Become that person. It may seem silly to wear a lot of dark colors and layers, especially if the expectant mother is pregnant in the summertime or in a tropical location. However, a tank top topped with a light, loose blouse should do the trick. A scarf can also do wonders to conceal a bump or draw the eye upward.

Wearing dark colors really does make people look thinner. So mothers trying to hide their pregnancy should embrace dark colors. Dark colors does not always mean black, it can mean dark denim and eggplant hued purple. Layering also adds a little dimension to an outfit that will draw eyes away from a bump and add thickness that will help to explain a person looking thicker around the middle too.

8 Peplum The Bump, Never Empire Waist

What is a peplum? Well number one it’s a trend that’s kind of going out of style, but for the meantime it’s best to embrace it. Peplum is a shirt or dress that flares out right around the middle of the waist, not under the bust, but rather near the belly button. This type of top will add some dimension around the middle that will be explained by the top rather than the tummy.

This is also a good time to discuss the no’s of dressing to hide the pregnancy. Empire waist shirts are a huge no. Some women think this is a great way to hide the pregnancy when in reality it just looks like a lot of maternity shirts already do. Empire shirts gather right under the bust and flow out from there and can really add quite a lot of width around a person’s middle even a petite person with no belly.

7 Accentuate New Assets

Pregnancy has it fair share of downsides like morning sickness all day long or even pregnancy acne. Some women even get frequent unexplained heartburn and frequent backaches. While all these symptoms are quite unpleasant there are a few good side-effects of pregnancy. Some of the positive changes of pregnancy include thicker and shinier hair or even longer nails. One of the most common pregnancy positives discussed is an increase in bust size.

Not all women would call an expanding bra size a positive (think of all the backaches and constantly spending money on new bras). However, for a woman trying to hide a pregnancy, an expanding chest can be quite helpful. It will help balance out the new bump on her stomach and will also usually draw eyes upward. While most people don’t want to be stared at in such a way, wearing a slightly lower cut top than usual can draw attention away from the soon to be here baby.

6 Change Up Your Fashion

Pregnancy is extremely exhausting time in many women’s lives, and sometimes the men in their lives too. So it is also good to try to take advantage of the few positives of pregnancy. One of the positives of pregnancy is the excuse to buy new clothes to fit an expanding stomach. Not only can buying new clothes be a nice treat, but it can also add quite a lot of comfort to a woman’s day.

Getting a new wardrobe that a person will only be wearing for a few months is a good time to try out new styles that she wouldn’t have tried before. This can also be a great opportunity for a woman trying to hide her pregnancy. If a person is suddenly wearing more patterns and different fits in clothing it is easy to blame their changing looks on the new style she has adopted. It also a good idea to try mixing patterns and highlighting other parts of the body in order to draw attention away from prying eyes.

5 Blame Exhaustion On Something Or Someone

Becoming pregnant can be surprisingly exhausting. In early pregnancy many women are shocked at how tired they feel before they have even gained weight or any of the other typical pregnancy symptoms show up. However, this exhaustion can be easily explained with the changing volume in blood in a woman’s body during pregnancy, as well as changing hormones. In short growing a human being is super tiring.

Many pregnant women find themselves constantly tired. During this intense sleepiness it is normal to yawn a lot, sit down more, and just generally act and feel lethargic. However, all of this behavior could make people question whether a woman is pregnant. So rather than pretending to not be tired, which can be very difficult, it is best to embrace the sleepiness. A woman hiding her pregnancy should start talking about not getting good sleep. For example she could say her neighbors have been really loud or even that her husband has been keeping her up with snoring, or Netflix marathons.

4 Draw Eyes Elsewhere With A New Hair Style

Pregnancy is a good time for a woman to treat herself and be pampered as much as possible. People ask why women deserved to be so spoiled during pregnancy and the answer is because pregnancy is physically demanding and because a baby is even more demanding. In other words, this is a great time to head to the salon.

An added benefit of an expectant mother treating herself at the salon is that it can actually help to conceal a pregnancy for at least a little while longer. Pregnant women don’t just gain weight on their midsection, like celebrities would have you believe, but rather on their face too. In fact some women’s noses even widen. A new hairstyle or even color can help to thin out a woman’s face while also drawing eyes upward away from her belly.

3 Invest In Some Great Concealer

Some of the first things that women and other people notice in a person’s pregnancy have nothing to do with a baby belly. In fact, a person looking exhausted or even sick is one of the first things many people may notice. This is only exacerbated by the fact that pregnant women don’t get good sleep because they are constantly waking throughout the night to pee. A woman looking exhausted always seems to draw unwanted attention and questions.

Concealer can help to hide dark circles under eyes from all that lack of sleep. Concealer also helps to hide any pregnancy acne that a woman may be experiencing. However, not just any concealer will work. It’s best to purchase one that is long lasting and matches a woman’s skin tone well, so that way no one can tell she’s wearing any. A setting powder may help to blend the concealer and help it to last longer into the day. Even women that don’t normally wear makeup could benefit from the concealing coverage when it comes to concealing a pregnancy.

2 Take Part In The Gallon A Day Challenge

The gallon a day challenge is a new healthy diet and fitness orientated craze where a person tries to consume a gallon of water a day. A woman did this in 2013 and wrote an article with accompanying pictures saying it changed her face for the better. It has now become a bit of a craze similar to the high carb diets of the early 2000’s.

Actually embracing this challenge could be a bit too extreme for most folks. However, if a woman is constantly running off to take extra bathroom breaks people could begin to take notice and question why that is. Whether a woman is constantly running off to be sick or pee all the time these are both typical signs of pregnancy and most people will figure out what a woman is concealing if she’s running to the bathroom 15 times a day. Carrying around a water bottle and taking sips often is great for a pregnant woman’s health and a great way to explain why she suddenly has to pee all the time. A woman can even mention she’s participating in the gallon a day challenge to further avoid speculation.

1 Scoff

This might seem like a silly option but acting extremely taken aback and even offended can certainly get people to quit asking if a woman is pregnant. Think of a time when asking a question and someone responding in offense. It certainly makes a person feel guilty for even asking. This can be a good response if a women gets outright questioned if she is pregnant.

There is a good chance that if a woman is offended at a question asked of her, the person who asked it may even tell others not to ask. While some people are just rude and may keep asking, it is fine to walk away and tell them that the question has made them uncomfortable. This may not always be the best tactic with certain people who will keep prying: a pregnant woman does not owe them an answer.

Sources: KidSpot.com.au, TandFOnline.com, ScienceDirect.com, AmericanPregnancy.org, Cosmopolitan.com