Cultural Differences

I've noticed something interesting about being pregnant in America versus being pregnant in Israel.

Many Americans tend to treat pregnant women veeery delicately, lest we faint dead away or burst into tears or suffer some drastic medical emergency or perhaps spontaneously combust. It's mostly silly, but the deferential treatment is also kind of nice.

Israelis, on the other hand, are used to pregnant ladies, so the only deferential treatment handed out is easier access to limited seating. While being treated as a fully competent human is appropriate and also kind of nice, I do somewhat miss the gratuitous over-the-top coddling.