Pregnant Woman Hidden Camera London Tube

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A pregnant woman took a hidden camera on the London Underground to capture just how many people give up their seats for expectant mothers. Sadly, the video shows that most commuters aren't willing to budge. Miri Michaeli Schwartz, a correspondent for Israeli TV Channel 10, was sick and tired of passengers refusing to give up their seat, reports The Daily Mail. Schwartz, who is nine months pregnant and wears a "Baby on Board" badge while riding the London Tube, took a hidden camera with her during her morning commute to show how unwilling passengers are to share a seat.

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London friends,Almost 9 months of commuting in the tube with the “Baby on board” badge have come to an end.At first I thought it is a brilliant London invention. How will other people know it’s not easy traveling with morning sickness if I don’t yet have a real big baby bump? Proudly and happily I wore my badge, hoping people will notice and offer me the priority seat when I need it. That didn’t happen. Then, I thought Londoners get up only for ladies who are later on in their pregnancy. I was frustrated I don’t “look pregnant” enough. That fact did not change how pregnant I felt. It was awful.Now, from the top of 38 weeks of pregnancy, when there’s absolutely no way to ignore my huge bump (with a cute little baby girl inside of it!), I can tell you- London tube commuters just don’t care. That’s why I decided today to take a hidden camera with me in order to show you how one day of my life looks, standing sometimes for long periods of time on the tube, swollen, exhausted and afraid of sudden brakes. Commuters see me, they see my bump, sometimes even stare but don’t get up, even if they are getting off of the train at the next station or are seating in the priority seat with a sticker of a pregnant lady as a reminder above their heads.I already know how people look when they try to act like they haven’t seen me. The newspaper is held up a little higher, the phone comes out, headphones are placed in ears or sometimes.. they stare at my bump and just don’t care.I think the first woman in the video, doing homework with her child on the Jubilee line, missed a chance to teach him a much more valuable lesson- how to respect others and be a little less selfish.Where I grew up, ever since I can remember myself my mother would get up herself and make me stand up if a person who needs the seat more got on the bus. It was so clear to me this is how it should work. No badge needed.Once in a while there are a few righteous people on the tube, as you can see at the end of the video clip. Unfortunately, they are not the majority. Transport for London
Posted by Miri Michaeli Schwartz on Thursday, February 4, 2016

She posted the video to Facebook on February 4, saying, "Proudly and happily I wore my badge, hoping people will notice and offer me the priority seat when I need it. That didn’t happen. Then, I thought Londoners get up only for ladies who are later on in their pregnancy. I was frustrated I don’t 'look pregnant' enough. That fact did not change how pregnant I felt. It was awful."

She adds, "Now, from the top of 38 weeks of pregnancy, when there’s absolutely no way to ignore my huge bump (with a cute little baby girl inside of it!), I can tell you — London tube commuters just don’t care." The London Underground's "Baby on Board" badges were launched as a way to help confused passengers figure out who was a mother-to-be, and avoid awkward assumptions about women based on their bodies. But clearly, the badges did little to sway passengers. At one point in the video, a young boy sitting in the priority seating section ignores Schwartz, and turns to his mother for help on homework. On another line, people in priority seating keep their eyes glued to their phones. In another shot, a man awkwardly makes eye contact with Schwartz, but still doesn't get up. "I already know how people look when they try to act like they haven’t seen me," Schwartz wrote on Facebook. "The newspaper is held up a little higher, the phone comes out, headphones are placed in ears or sometimes.. they stare at my bump and just don’t care." Since posting the video, it's gone viral. Unfortunately, this isn't a new phenomenon — and it's not unique to London either. People have blogged think pieces on why they won't give up their seats to pregnant women, because they see it as a major political move, or a sign of gender equality. "Once in a while there are a few righteous people on the tube, as you can see at the end of the video clip," Schwartz said at the end of her post. "Unfortunately, they are not the majority."

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