Australian man who ‘tried pregnancy’ for a day barely completes simple tasks
He struggled to put on shoes, get out of bed and take a bath
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An Australian man challenged himself to see if he could survive a whole day of pregnancy by simulating the body of a pregnant woman.
In a series of TikTok videos, YouTuber and content creator Maitland Hanley documented himself carrying out several everyday tasks with the weight of an average pregnancy belly attached to his stomach.
As per the NHS, on average, women gain between 9-12.5kg of weight during pregnancy.
In a bid to recreate this, Hanley used multiple layers of clingfilm to attach a watermelon (the average weighs around 9kg) to his stomach and two smaller melons to his chest.
He started his day by attempting to get out of bed but struggled to manoeuvre his body under the weight of the fruit.
In the video, which has been viewed almost 16 million times, he manages to pivot his body so that his feet are on the ground but is unable to stand up.
Later, he is seen trying to stand up after having been lying on the floor. He finds it impossible to do so without rolling onto his front before his partner tells him “you can’t lay on your baby like that”.
“Men don’t realise it’s like having a large basketball attached to you, it’s not all squishy,” one user commented, pointing out that pregnant women could not stand up in this way.
In other videos, he attempts to put on a pair of shoes, perform push-ups, get into a car, get out of a bath and go to a local McDonald’s restaurant to satisfy his “pregnancy” cravings.
Some users noted that Hanley’s walk had taken on a “pregnancy waddle”, while his partner noted that he was struggling to keep his back straight throughout the day.
Many women said they could relate to Hanley’s struggle with some of the everyday tasks and Hanley admitted that he “thought it would be so much easier”.
“Okay so now add another watermelon...I was pregnant with twins and had to stop driving at 30 weeks because I couldn’t fit behind the wheel,” one woman said after watching him get into the car.
Hanley also managed to find some of the perks of his temporary shape, such as how it doubles up as a table for snacks.
In one video, he is seen eating some crisps and balancing his water bottle on his stomach.
“A pregnant belly is a great table. [Until] bub decides to kick and you wear your drink,” one woman said.
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