Pregnancy Pranks: All Pranks Not Created Equally

Yesterday, while checking email, I scrolled through my social media news feed, like I always do. I saw that one of my friends, a baker, replaced the jelly in her husband’s doughnut with ketchup. Another, who is a tech wizard, altered her husband’s TV screen so he would think it was cracked. When I got to one particular cousin’s updates, I knew what was happening: April Fools’ Day. This cousin, who is queen prankster, replaced her husband’s orange juice with cheese powder in water this year. How many of you made it out of April Fools’ Day unscathed by pranks?

Then the pranks went from lighthearted, good-natured to cruel and hurtful. Anything from: break-ups, divorce, accidents, injuries and fake pregnancies. One individual even went as far to say that they had a miscarriage. First reaction: What? Why? Maybe I’m too old fashioned but some things cross a line. For me, a line had been crossed: the pregnancy pranks. For those of you who have suffered through infertility, the loss of a pregnancy or child, or a failed adoption, you know how bad that stings. Scratch that, it cuts like a knife. As a woman who has suffered with infertility diagnosis of PCOS my entire life and 5 failed adoptions, I feel I can speak for all of us in saying that a child is a precious gift. For those who have not experienced this kind of grief, and can’t fathom why anyone would be bothered- that a joke is just a joke, here’s the thing: All pranks are not created equally.

The misconception about folks bothered by pregnancy pranks is that we don’t have a sense of humor. We’re uptight. I pointed out to an acquaintance, a pregnancy pranker who had never fathered a child, that some might be offended. His response: “It’s just a joke. I mean if we had really lost a baby we wouldn’t joke about it.” His significant other’s reaction: “I’m really upset with him. We’ve been together years. Like years. We have talked about marriage and kids. I want kids. We both do. Now that he made this stupid joke nobody will believe us if we ever get pregnant.” There were a few people who had suffered these losses that said “Big deal, people need to suck it up and move on. We all experience loss in our lives. Some people joke about killing each other. Some joke about pregnancy.” In my humble opinion, there is a difference. We can joke our way through life not joke about a life- That’s the difference.