Three men in England will try to prove their manly strength by wearing pregnancy “empathy bellies” for an entire month.
The men -- Jason Bramley, Steve Hanson and Jonny Biggins, all in their 40s -- will spend every day until Mother's Day (March 15 in the UK) with a 33-pound pregnancy-style suit strapped to their torsos.
Why? To promote the upcoming release of their newest book, "The Book of Mums."
The suits, modeled after a third-trimester belly (and complete with swollen boobs), are so realistic they even put pressure on the bladder, stomach and lungs.
The guys will have to wear the suits day in and day out, excluding while bathing.
The three dads have been keeping track of their daily experiences with the strap-on bellies, and needless to say, they're pretty miserable.
Day one, Bramley was complaining of an achy back and sore shoulders. He even admitted,
I certainly didn't expect this after only one afternoon wearing the pregnancy suit.
Biggins didn't even last that long: After just five hours, he started complaining.
The velcro straps that support the suit chaff [sic] against your neck, the belly itself hangs so low it swings perilously aroun your mid-ground and to pee you have to hike the thing up with one hand, pull the fella out with the other and pray you're not urinating down your leg.
Hanson, the champ, made it to day three with no complaints, after which he admits he couldn't sleep, and his “boobs soon became about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit.”
Points for creativity, Hanson.
As a woman, albeit one who has never been pregnant, I feel no sympathy for these suckers. They can take their bellies off if it gets to be too much -- and, you know, when they're showering. Women don't have that luxury.
Still, the gesture is sweet, not to mention hilarious to witness. Keep tabs on the men via YouTube, where they'll be updating their digital diaries throughout the duration of the experiment.
Ta-da!
Steve Hanson
Jason Bramley
Jonny Biggins
Here are the videos of their experience.
Citations: Three dads don empathy bellies to experience pregnancy (Mashable)
