I’m big and pregnant but can vanish my huge baby bump like magic
Lugging around a bulging baby bump at eight months pregnant is tough — but this fierce mommy-to-be is sucking it up.
In November 2022, after learning that she’d soon be welcoming her fifth child, a 26-year-old mom of four boys, Mariah Simon, vowed to conceal the unplanned pregnancy from close friends and family by sucking in her stomach for as long as possible.
Now her ability to pull in her huge belly, virtually disappearing any traces of her gestational swell, is going viral on TikTok.
“I’ve always sucked in my stomach. I’ve done it during all of my pregnancies. This isn’t my first rodeo,” Simon, from Baldwin, Wisconsin, explained to The Post. She and her husband, Trevan, whose sons range in age from 6 years old to 18 months, are expecting their first daughter in early May.
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“At the beginning of this pregnancy, I wanted to keep it a secret because I didn’t want to hear any negativity about having baby No. 5,” she continued. “So, I spent a lot of time sucking my stomach in, and because my muscles are so tight down there, you really can’t see the [baby bump].”
The process of “sucking in” a stomach sees a person repeatedly and extensively contracting the muscles of their upper abdomen, causing the belly to retract and appear flat.
And although recent reports have found that sucking in a pregnant belly likely won’t harm a fetus, owing to the layers of fat and fluids that surround it, the act isn’t highly recommended.
Simon, who didn’t know she was with child until she was 10 weeks pregnant, hid her growing bump from loved ones for another 10 weeks.
But in February, once at the 20-week mark and well into her second trimester, she and Trevan felt comfortable sharing the big news with their family.
Online snippets of Simon’s stomach sorcery have scored more than 1 million views from astonished audiences stumped by the vanishing act.
In her most trending clip, the svelte-looking blond, dressed in black sweat pants and a fitted gray shirt, mocks a hater in the closed captions of the post, writing: “I found someone who can hide their pregnancy better than you.” In response, a doubtful Simon lifts up her shirt to reveal her ballooning belly, and lip-syncs the lyrics: “I gotta see her” to the song “Mrs. Right” by mid-2000s boy band Mindless Behavior.
Stunned social media watchers are blown away by her tummy trickery.
“Not me jumping back!! Like where did the baby go?!!” wrote a stupefied spectator.
“What the Hermoine Granger was that?” joked another, likening her abracadabra abdomen abilities to those of a “Harry Potter” character.
“Ok but it definitely looked like a magic trick, like you just blew your belly up,” one onlooker teased.
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The praises from mystified fans aside, Simon also was pummeled with hate from digital detractors.
“I can’t help but think that can’t be good for the baby sucking it in like that,” advised a seemingly concerned commenter.
“[Your] baby can die, don’t do that,” wrote another.
One critic scolded Simon, saying, “Not sure why you’d wanna hide a precious opportunity that women would give anything to have, but weird flex,” while another warned, “[You’re] hurting that little angel.”
But in response to the online admonishments, Simon told The Post: “I would never do anything to intentionally harm my baby.”
In fact, the stay-at-home mom said she’s found research that underscores the benefits of sucking in a pregnant gut.
“It strengthens your pelvic floor and supports your abdominal muscles,” said Simon. “And after I have the baby, I feel like my stomach muscles are so tight and strong.”
Rather than casting stones, Simon suggested faultfinders cut her some slack.
“I’ve had four completely healthy children,” the mom retorted. “I know what I’m doing.”
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