Bump Smitten

Difference Between Fat Belly and Pregnant Belly

You looked in the mirror one day and noticed something bulgy in your tummy area. For sexually active women, most would assume that they’re pregnant. But it’s also possible that it’s just a fat belly, right?



The thing about a woman’s body is that it is not always easy to tell this from that. Obviously, a pregnancy test is the only thing that can put an end to this confusion.

But what if you suspect someone else to be pregnant? Do you simply give up your train seat to another lady just because she has a bulgy stomach? Good thing that there are actually several things you can check to determine if it is a pregnant belly or fat belly with no need to raise your hopes up or ask it out loud.

What Makes Pregnant Belly and Fat Belly Different?

There is actually a significant difference between a pregnant belly and a fat belly. A stomach abundant with fat may only be surrounded by some fatty tissue. However, its size will be fuller because of the amount that a person eats.

But when a woman is pregnant, it might not be possible to eat as much since there is not a lot of room to accommodate all that food. You also need to remember that pregnancy grows in the uterus and not in the stomach.

The food that a person eats goes directly to the stomach. In the case of a pregnant woman, the fetus will grow bigger and bigger and push out the uterus upwards from the lower abdomen. When the woman accumulates fat around the middle, there is only fat there without a fetus.

How Does a Fat Belly Look Like?

If you are not sexually active and you are sure that you are not pregnant, why do you have a fat belly, then?

Fat abdomens are soft and squishy. Now, there is one caveat here. Pregnant bellies can also be soft and squishy sometimes, and the only difference is that a baby is growing inside.

When a woman is overweight, there is a big chance that all the fat gets concentrated and accumulated in the abdominal area. Other body parts, such as the thighs, will be soft and squishy as well.

Fat belly actually has several different types and being familiar with and understanding each of them can help you determine what causes your belly to be fat in the first place.

Inflated Belly

It is easy to tell if you have a bloated or inflated belly if your stomach only gets bigger when nighttime comes. This can be because of sluggish bowels, an allergic reaction to some types of food, or an imbalance in the intestinal flora.

Love Handles

Most of you have probably heard of or are familiar with love handles, or those cushions found on the sides of a person. This form of excess weight around a person’s belly area is often the result of a sedentary lifestyle combined with lots of carbs and sugar and excessive consumption of alcohol.

Low Belly

Does your stomach protrude a bit even if you have a generally slim body profile? If this is the case, what you have is the so-called low belly. Some of the common causes of a low belly include an unchanging diet, the natural curve of your spine, or a recent pregnancy. This can also happen if your gym routine has become monotonous.

Mom’s Belly

A mom’s belly is a specific type of fat belly that can be observed in new moms that have recently given birth to their baby.

Stress Belly

Aside from the more common loose love handles, there is also the so-called stress belly. It is best identified as the fat surrounding the belly button that makes the stomach look thick.

Chronic stress is the most obvious cause of this stress belly. This can also occur if you have the habit of skipping your meals, binging on unhealthy food options, or drinking several cups of coffee per day.

How should you deal with these different types of fat belly, then?

First of all, you need to follow and practice the right type of exercise routine that will target these specific problem areas. Aside from this, you also have to make sure that you stick to a proper and nutritious diet.

It is often all too easy to get too excited when the thought of popping a pill and hoping that you will magically lose weight overnight. But you need to remember that weight loss is not something that can happen that easily.

To effectively lose weight, it is important that you work for it and do it hard and long. Again, while exercise has an important role to play, you still need to eat right at the same time.

woman in blue denim jeans and white long sleeve shirt

How Does a Pregnant Belly Look Like?

A pregnant woman’s body experiences and goes through all kinds of changes that seem to be happening all at once. One of these changes is the growth of the uterus which puts more pressure on the woman’s abdomen.

When a woman is pregnant, she will feel a little hardness around the belly area as the uterus grows to support the development of the baby.

However, the belly area shouldn’t be as hard as a rock. Instead, even if the level of hardness may change at different times, there should still be a little softness during the length of the pregnancy.

The Bottom Line

There you have it! You now know the difference between fat belly and pregnant belly. Before you get too excited when you notice your tummy looking a little bigger, the best way to put an end to your confusion and second-guessing is to take a pregnancy test or visit a doctor right away.

Remember that you are the best judge of yourself more than anyone else so never dismiss it when something changes or feels different about your body unexpectedly. Also, the next time you see a woman with a big belly, don’t assume that she is pregnant right away.

And with that, we officially end this blog post. But before you go, can you do us a solid and spread the love (or laughter) by sharing this on your social media? Who knows, maybe we might even find someone who can relate to our content and benefit from it... Wink