A pregnant influencer faced backlash for briefly making her stomach appear flat, but experts say the concern is unwarranted

• A fitness influencer filmed herself sucking in her pregnant belly on TikTok.
• The video went viral and viewers expressed concerns for the baby's health in their comments.

Australian fitness influencer Tammy Hembrow, who is six months pregnant, sparked concern after posting a TikTok video where she can be seen sucking in her baby bump.

The clip, posted on February 5, 2022, showed Hembrow in a relaxed pose with her hand on her belly before sucking in her stomach to make her bump appear completely flat. It quickly went viral, and now has over 16 million views.

More than 4,000 people commented on Hembrow's video, with many expressing concern for her baby. "Uh, is the baby alive?" one top comment with 10,000 likes said.

Experts say sucking in your stomach while pregnant is completely harmless when done for short periods of time, as Hembrow did. They did, however, caution against doing so for prolonged periods and in certain conditions.

@tammyhembrow

♬ POOF BE GONE - KyleYouMadeThat

Hembrow, who has been a fitness influencer since 2015, has 14 million Instagram followers and 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube, where she recently posted a "pregnancy friendly" workout video. Representatives for Hembrow did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

The 27-year-old influencer is not the first to attract criticism for sucking in their stomach while pregnant on TikTok. The Daily Dot reported that vlogger Megan Call, who has 600,000 TikTok followers, received a number of concerned comments when she posted a similar video in May 2020.

@meganbcall the ultimate baby bump challenge #pregnant #fyp #pregnancy #23weekspregnant ♬ som original - WinningNHLBettor

In her comments section, Hembrow responded to concerns by saying that she has to suck in her belly while she trains, even claiming that the practice is "super good for your core" during pregnancy, and assuring viewers that her baby is "just fine."

Pre and postnatal fitness coach Kirsty Victoria, who specializes in pelvic floor exercises, told Insider that the movement of sucking in your stomach is not something she has coached clients to do in the past because the move "puts the abdominals and pelvic floor under a lot of pressure very quickly."

Rayner said certain abdominal exercises in pregnancy can support your bump and pelvic floor, but added, "it is especially important that these are modified based on your trimester and only undertaken with the guidance of a certified pregnancy fitness expert to avoid complications."

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And while experts largely agree that sucking in a pregnant stomach is harmless when done occasionally, some have warned against doing so for long periods of time, as it might create complications for both the mother and child.

Dr. Ellie Rayner is an obstetrician and founder of The Maternity Collective, a UK organization that provides birth preparation classes. She told Insider that sucking in your stomach wall can push the organs together and reduce the capacity of your lungs by lifting the diaphragm which "may mean you find it uncomfortable and that it makes you feel short of breath."

According to Rayner, sucking in a pregnant belly should be avoided when lying down while facing up, as any strenuous movement can put pressure on large blood vessels in the stomach that provides oxygen to the fetus. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also warns against exercising on your back during pregnancy for these reasons, adding that it might reduce the woman's blood pressure for a short time.

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