Standing room only, but preggo lady still gets a chair

July 27, 2012 8:34 AM

Are all bars super accommodating to pregnant ladies, or just the ones we go to in Montreal?

Every time we've been out to a bar or a show in Montreal -- the kind where you expect to be standing -- my lady friend has always been able to get a seat. Sometimes we have to ask the bouncer, but the bar staff are usually so accommodating that it makes me wonder whether this is official city / provincial policy. (Special kudos to Metropolis, which has been extra awesome in this regard).

So, is this just a Montreal/Quebec thing? It wouldn't surprise me if it is, but what's your experience been like?

posted by awenner to health & fitness (12 answers total)

It is not a regulation in the bars I have worked in/frequented in the Chicago area. I never had a problem getting a seat when I was [visibly/hugely/monstrously] pregnant though, so it may just be folks being nice? I have had to stand on the train while [ginormously] pregnant though, but I attribute that to folks being stressed/ornery/oblivious during their commute.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 8:44 AM on July 27, 2012

In my experience, people are generally nice to pregnant ladies.
posted by amro at 8:56 AM on July 27, 2012 [8 favorites]

(My experience is in New Jersey.)
posted by amro at 8:56 AM on July 27, 2012

People have never been nicer to me than when I was visibly pregnant. Getting doors held, offers to help carry bags out of stores, seats offered in crowded spaces. It was pretty great.
posted by chiababe at 9:13 AM on July 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yeah, I echo the opinions above, in my experience people are really nice to pregnant woman (in North America at least). Where I live in Ontario all the malls, grocery stores Walmarts etc even have special parking spots for pregnant ladies right by the doors.
posted by saradarlin at 9:30 AM on July 27, 2012

Yeah, I'm really visibly pregnant right now, and folks are just nice. They give up seats, open doors, smile easily. No policies needed.
posted by Specklet at 9:36 AM on July 27, 2012

There is a strong cultural prescription to be nice to pregnant women which even has specific subclauses regarding making sure they can sit down if they want to. E.g., on a crowded bus or train car, pregnant women rank with the elderly and disabled in terms or seating priority. If a pregnant woman needs a seat, one must make reasonable accomodation to offer her a seat.

This is not a formal policy of course, just a cultural thing. It's an informal prescription but it's pretty strong and nearly universal in western society.
posted by Scientist at 10:14 AM on July 27, 2012

all the malls, grocery stores Walmarts etc even have special parking spots for pregnant ladies

Walmart et al. aren't motivated by mere kindness or cultural prescription: expectant parents are an unusually desirable market sector, for reasons this NYT article explains.

(Montreal bartenders, though, are probably just fabulous human beings.)
posted by feral_goldfish at 10:37 AM on July 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hasn't really happened to me, in Connecticut (except at work). I kinda wonder if it's because I'm so short. I'm only five feet tall so my belly is way below eye level for almost everyone.
posted by smalls at 10:47 AM on July 27, 2012

I live in Toronto, which isn't exactly known for its warmth or friendliness. However, when I was pregnant people were wonderful - giving me seats on the subway, holding doors, offering help wherever I turned. So I think people are just being nice.
posted by barnoley at 11:08 AM on July 27, 2012

I don't think that this sounds super accommodating. This sounds regular accommodating. I think that most people in a crowded establishment would find or give up a chair to a visibly pregnant woman.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 6:30 PM on July 27, 2012

A column I read once (and now can't find, argh) approached this from the other direction. She said that she really noticed how extra nice people are for pregnant women once she gave birth and the niceness stopped sharp (even though having a small child is in some ways worse than being pregnant, at least the fetus left you with your hands free). So yes, very common in North America for people to be really nice to visibly pregnant women, regardless of how they are normally.
posted by anaelith at 5:36 AM on July 28, 2012