Pregnant journalist almost smacked her co-host after feeling a 'poke' on her belly — then realized it was not him
Moments before going on-air, she felt such a strong kick that she assumed her co-host poked his finger into her pregnant belly
A journalist went into full protective mode when she felt a tiny "poke" on her pregnant belly. Irritated, she spun around at full speed, ready to smack her colleague. But moments later, she burst into uncontrollable laughter, realizing the actual culprit. Janai Norman (@janai), an ABC News journalist, shared the hilarious throwback incident on TikTok on March 30. Her now-viral video has been viewed 5.8 million times on her page.
Norman was shooting with anchor Kenneth Moton in the newsroom when the quirky moment happened. Just before going on-air, the co-hosts were going about minding their own business when Norman felt a poke on her pregnant belly. Convinced Moton was messing with her, she turned towards him, prepared to hit him, only to realize he was innocent. "Oh... I am sorry, I got kicked, and I thought you poked me. I was ready to swat you," Norman confessed, seconds before bursting into laughter.
So basically, the baby kicked so strongly that the pregnant journalist felt almost like someone was pressing a finger into her belly. Moton, too, cracked up at the confusion, making the light-hearted moment even more comical. "The baby is like, 'Watch this,'" he joked.
Feeling your baby kick during pregnancy is normal, but some may feel stronger than usual. A study (by Camille H. Raynes-Greenow, Adrienne Gordon, Qiushuang Li, and Jon A. Hyett) of 156 pregnant women found that fetal movements changed throughout pregnancy. The participants said that as pregnancy progressed, their baby's movements changed in a clear pattern. Initially, they felt gentle moments, which later transformed into strong limb movements and, finally, more noticeable whole-body movements. It was also revealed that while 83% of women were told to notice fetal movements, only 16% followed it seriously.
Interestingly, some women experience kick-like sensations (called "phantom kicks") even after childbirth. Yes, that's right. Another study on 197 women who had been pregnant before revealed that nearly 40% of participants experienced phantom fetal kicks after their first pregnancy, up to 28 years post-partum. While 27% described the feeling as nostalgic or comforting, 25.7% were confused or troubled by it.
Meanwhile, reacting to the hilarious video, @goddess_249 commented, "She's going to be a great mom; she went right into protector mode." @kc3jones shared, "I know exactly which kind of 'poke' kick she felt! It’s not a normal baby kick! It legit feels like a big finger poke. " Similarly, @justarib wrote, "I know exactly what that kick felt like lol. I don’t even know if it’s a kick or some weird placenta movement, but it happens sometimes when I yawn or stretch. It feels like something poked you hard as f**k. It makes me jump every time." @julieperezchavez confessed, "Every time my baby would kick me, I always thought my phone was getting a notification, lol."
You can follow Janai Norman (@janai) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.
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