3 Pregnant Dads - A Tribute To Moms & Wives

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Aches and pains. Mood swings. That constant pressure on your bladder that sends you running to the bathroom at all hours of the day.

Pregnancy isn’t all about that maternal glow…

Three British men are getting a taste of what pregnancy can be like by spending a month wearing sympathy bellies in a unique tribute to their mothers and wives (and moms all over the world).

Jason Bramley, Steve Hanson and Jonny Biggins donned 33-pound suits just over a week ago and plan to wear them in the run up to March 6, when England celebrates Mother’s Day.

The rules are simple:

• • bellies must be worn around the clock (except for when they’re showering)
  • men will all keep diaries of their experience, and
  • no cheating!

The bellies simulate many of the physical experiences of carrying a child. The suits come with fake breasts and are designed to put pressure on the lower back, bladder, stomach and lungs.

“I think it is as close as possible to simulating how pregnancy may feel for some women,” ABC News Senior Medical Contributor Dr. Jennifer Ashton, an OB-GYN based in the United States, said.

The men’s reactions to their new bellies have been significant — and almost immediate. On Day 1, Jason Bramley likened the pain in his back and shoulders to “the morning after a rugby match.”

In the days that followed, Bramley said he experienced issues with sleep. He quickly learned how complicated simple tasks, like retrieving a dropped cellphone, can become while pregnant.

“(It’s) the little things we’re finding quite arduous; simple things, tying shoelaces, dropping pens, putting plugs in,” Bramley told ABC.

Bramley calls the reaction they have received “extraordinary.”