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Pregnancy

02nd Feb 2023

Pregnant woman faints after people refuse to give her a seat on train

Kat O'Connor

“They all pretended not to hear me”

A pregnant woman has opened up about how she fainted on public transport after people failed to give up their seats. Giving up your seat on the bus or train to those who need it more is a common courtesy.

However, one mum was ignored when she asked her fellow passengers if she could sit down, despite being noticeably pregnant.

She wrote about the ordeal on Mumsnet and said it’s “less common to offer a pregnant woman a seat” nowadays.

“I feel like it wasn’t like this during my last pregnancy but this time it almost seems too rare for someone to offer!” she wrote.

The mum, who is 34 weeks pregnant, explained that she often feels faint due to a mixture of sickness and low blood pressure. She often feels faint when she is travelling on the tube in London.

“One time I felt truly horrific and could feel my head spinning I asked the people who were in or near the priority seats but they all pretended not to hear me.”

The pregnant woman asked the passengers three times, but they completely ignored her. She then fainted because she was forced to stand on the busy tube.

She stressed that she is obviously pregnant and has a “substantial-sized bump” and also wears a badge.

Fellow mums agreed that hardly anyone offers up their seats anymore, which makes travelling even harder for pregnant people.

One mum said, “I would definitely move if asked, and can’t believe people don’t. I think it’s incredibly rude of an able-bodied person to do that.”

Another added, “It’s been like this for quite a while now, people are insular and selfish, especially on public transport.”

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