Why Meghan can’t keep her hands off her baby bump, according to a midwife

We've seen a lot of Meghan Markle in the past two weeks - and it's being remarked on just how much she's been clutching her baby bump.

Meghan and Prince Harry announced that they were expecting a baby on the first day of their tour of Australasia and the news has become the big focus of the trip. The duchess hasn't shied away from the glare of the media since sharing the news but has appeared protective of her stomach while in public. Some online have suggested that Meghan, who is thought to be in her second trimester, is trying to draw attention to her bump but a midwife has suggested that she might already be feeling her baby's first movements.

"Although most women will start to feel their baby move by around 18 to 20 weeks, some women may feel this sooner," Lesley Gilchrist of My Expert Midwife told The Mail Online.

"Flutterings are the first sensations that are felt. However gas movement through the gut feels similar and this may cause an instinctive, involuntary touching of the stomach."

It could also be a natural impulse to protect her tummy.

"For many women they will be unaware that they are instinctively 'guarding' their baby," Lesley continued.

"Many of those instincts are triggered when thoughts of their baby, sight of another baby and discussions of baby happen." Fair enough - the royal couple are greeted by crowds of people everywhere they go so no surprise that Meghan feels like she wants to guard her stomach.