The sisterhood of the traveling belly

MANILA, Philippines - Mothers truly are heaven-sent, but ironically there´s nothing quite like the hell months they have to go through while they are pregnant. It is easy for anyone to acknowledge that carrying child is difficult, but this Mother´s Day, Ford Philippines went the extra mile by allowing some single journalists to experience the closest to what it is really like to be pregnant—through a brilliant  contraption that they call the ¨Empathy Belly.¨

The Empathy Belly is a pregnancy suit—basically a contraption you may use to simulate being pregnant. You fill the belly compartment with water, to replicate an expectant mother´s tummy (and you choose the amount of water, based on the trimester you would like to simulate), and then add belly weights into the suit´s built-in pouches, to simulate the weight of the baby.

Ideally, you should also opt to insert a separate, 6-pound packet that is meant to mimic the fetal head and apply pressure on your bladder; and also add the separate heavy ball bearings that are meant to add extra weight and move around your suit pockets to mimic fetal kicking. The suit also includes a tight rib belt that is meant to mimic shortness of breath. All these, plus the enlarged breasts that the suit comes along with, give an excellent taste of the many constraints a woman has to deal with, while she is pregnant. And as you may have thought, it also makes driving especially difficult.

Fortunately, Ford designers and engineers have gone to great lengths to understand the special driving dynamics of pregnant women, and have especially kept them in mind while designing their cars. And to allow us to experience firsthand the many car conveniences that pregnant women will truly appreciate, we were lent the class-leading Ford Focus alongside the pregnancy suit for a few days, to drive around the metro doing our regular errands, while pretending to be pregnant.

And what was the experience like? It was really an eye-opener—maybe even a tad bit scary! Only within 15 minutes of my first time wearing the pregnancy suit, I had already wanted to rip it off! The enlarged belly and breasts were practically self-attached obstacles that got in the way of everything, and the heavy weights made it especially difficult to bend over. When operating a car, it became extra challenging to simply reach and close an open trunk; and even getting into the car became a chore because of the forward weight you have to fight when stepping inside. It is still not over once you are in the driver´s seat, as you have to move your seat back further than usual, to avoid bumping your belly and breasts onto the steering wheel. You will have to specially adjust your seatbelts to position the strap below the abdomen to relieve pressure on the belly, and adjust the shoulder strap to position it between your pseudo-breasts, so as not to crush them.

Most of all, all this extra body weight eventually takes a toll on your lower back, and you may have to eventually source a small back pillow for the driver´s seat, to add some back support and relieve strain. The list of inconveniences goes on and on—at the end of the immersion, you will surely run to your mother and give her a big, tight hug to thank her for dealing with all that stress in order to give birth to you!

It was therefore a magnified delight that the Ford Focus has a spacious interior, and low stepping clearance from the ground, that made it easier to get in. All the smart features and the ergonomic shifting handle and buttons came as a great relief, after all the prior stress that I had to deal with; and considering my compromised arm´s reach, it was fantastic to have all the controls smartly positioned nearby. The adjustable steering wheel was also great in giving me flexibility to find my most comfortable driving position. Furthermore, Ford´s vehicles showcase a high degree of active and passive safety features—providing that peace of mind that class-leading safety is available for mommy and baby.

The Empathy Belly truly lived up to its name—it instilled empathy for the challenges pregnant women have to face, in a way that no other exercise could. There indeed is nothing like a mother´s love, and thank heavens that car companies such as Ford are beginning to empathize with their sacrifices, and trying to make life a little more comfortable for them. Cheers to all our moms!!