Jinger Duggar hasn’t even given birth yet, but she’s already being attacked by mommy shamers. According to Mommyish , some fans are freaking out over the size of her baby bump in a recent Instagram photo shared by her husband, Jeremy Vuolo. A few of Jeremy’s followers have opined that her pregnant belly looks much too small, and there are others who insist that they don’t see it all.
The image that is confusing so many Duggar fans was taken last week when Jinger and Jeremy visited Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Market store in Waco, Texas. In the snapshot, Jinger is wearing skinny jeans and a baggy black T-shirt that’s tied at one corner. The Counting On star is sitting on a stool and has her body turned at an angle. A combination of the way her body is positioned and the fit of her top makes it difficult to make out her baby bump.
Jeremy Vuolo’s Instagram post was flooded with comments from fans who wanted to know why his wife’s baby bump isn’t visible. One conspiracy theorist even suggested that Jinger has already given birth. However, based on her most recent pregnancy update on Instagram, she was only 23 or 24 weeks pregnant when the photo was taken.
Another fan posited that the photo is an older one. Jeremy Vuolo and Jinger Duggar have visited Magnolia Market before, so this wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. However, a few fans encountered the couple there last week, and they shared the photographic evidence on social media. A few of these snapshots can be seen on the Keeping Up with Fundies Tumblr, and Jinger’s bump is clearly visible in them.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg69ZRNBayp/?hl=en&taken-by=jeremy_vuolo
Romper deemed some of the comments about the photo above “a tad judgmental” and “obtrusive.” The outlet even cited a study that found that it can be “detrimental to a pregnant woman” to comment on the size and shape of her baby bump when she’s expecting. Unfortunately, the practice of scrutinizing the appearance of celebrity baby bumps has become a popular pastime on the internet. According to StyleCaster , Chrissy Teigen is another celebrity who has recently been bump-shamed . However, her social media followers complained that her baby bump was too big.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bge4BrZgpXS/?hl=en&taken-by=jingervuolo
Kate Middleton experienced the same issue as Jinger Duggar, but some of the comments about her pregnancy body were far more vicious. Because her bump was also on the smaller side, she was criticized for looking “malnourished” and “emaciated.” Khloe Kardashian was similarly shamed for having a smaller bump earlier in her pregnancy. She was accused of working out too much to avoid gaining weight.
According to PopCulture , Jinger’s younger sister Joy-Anna also experienced bump-shaming from critics who accused her of lying about how far along she was in her pregnancy. These accusations were solely based on her baby bump size. Joy-Anna was 24 weeks pregnant when the photo below was taken.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbYGoPxBMjG/?utm_source=ig_embed
According to Health Magazine, there are number of reasons why baby bump sizes differ so much. For first-time moms like Jinger, it might take longer for their bumps to “pop” because their abdominal walls aren’t as elastic as those of women who have already given birth. Fitness levels and certain medical conditions are other factors that affect the size and shape of baby bumps.
Jinger Duggar hasn’t responded to the comments about her body. However, during an interview with Us Weekly , she seemed to be more concerned about the size of her actual baby than her baby bump. This is because Joy-Anna’s baby boy weighed in at over 10 pounds as a newborn.
“I wasn’t super nervous until Joy had her baby and then I thought, ‘Oh my. What if I have a 10-pounder?’” Jinger said. “That’s probably the only thing that makes me nervous, is just thinking of the size of the baby and going through labor, but at this point I’m trying not to think about that.”