Originally published April 29 2014
Planet Fitness kicks pregnant woman out of the gym for her 'belly hanging out'
by PF Louis
(NaturalNews) A young pregnant woman was working out on a treadmill at a Planet Fitness gym in Charlotte, N.C., when one of the staff approached her and explained that she couldn't bare her bulging midriff. She had to change tops or leave. So she was given a choice.
Melissa Mantor explained that she's 18 weeks pregnant and her tank top was too short to cover the baby bump. So she was offered a large T-shirt and permitted to continue her workout while being warned to adhere to the gym's policy in the future. Perhaps Melisa was too socially embarrassed to assess the situation calmly and clearly.
The report implies that she was asked to leave for displaying her baby bulge. But there are two sides to every story, and just by following the quotes, you might agree that Melissa overreacted by complaining to CBS locally.
What was said and what Planet Fitness claims
Here's what Melisa told the Charlotte CBS affiliate: "I was very confused. She continued telling that my belly was hanging out and I need to get it covered up. I told her at that time 'Of course my belly is hanging out, I am pregnant.' She handed me a very large t-shirt while telling me that what I was wearing was inappropriate and in violation of their dress code."
Melissa was wearing a string tank top, which Planet Fitness doesn't allow under their dress codes. Melisa complained that that's what she had worn each time she came to the gym, so that didn't make sense to her, a reasonable complaint but not a major newsworthy issue.
Well, maybe the girl who approached her didn't like seeing baby bumps under duress or at all without being covered. Or maybe she used company policy to enforce her aversion to seeing a woman working out while pregnant. Maybe someone or others complained to the gym staffer. But Melisa was offered a t-shirt to continue and was advised to wear similar cover-up garb in the future.
Melisa refused with this justification: "T-shirts are terribly uncomfortable for me to work out in while getting sweaty and lifting weights. I have had equal amounts of my midriff showing from the day I began going to this the gym. The night of the 21st was the first time I attended the gym while noticeably pregnant."
Hmmm, seems like a setup for a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit, based on her complaining how the scene had embarrassed her so much that she would never return, and the incident "took the wind out of [her] sails," making it more difficult for her to stay fit while pregnant.
Here's Planet Fitness' official entry into the much-ado-about-nothing incident from PR Director McCall Gosselin: "This particular location also had a stated policy that prohibited bare midriffs. In this instance, a staff member approached the member to inform her of the policy and offer her a free t-shirt to complete her workout. She was not asked to leave the gym as a result of her attire."
Well, Melisa, nice try. But it appears that your 15 minutes of fame won't yield more than exposing your immaturity. Besides, you didn't include photos on the internet the way Lea-Ann Ellison did with more of a baby bulge than baby bump.
Lea-Ann was eight and a half months pregnant when she did a photo shoot of her lifting weights with her big baby belly fully exposed. The photos were posted on her husband Shane Ellison's website, The People's Chemist.
Lea is a natural body builder who has won awards for her body sculpting without steroids. Her photos went viral and US and UK mainstream media promoted an international outraged backlash from her activity. This was a major flap.
Lea's husband, Shane, is a renegade organic chemist who bolted from his cushy Eli Lily job to create natural supplements and health solutions to replace Big Pharma's toxic prescriptions. Shane constantly exposes Big Pharma and medical dogma lies on his site and through his books.
And Lea-Ann, Shane and a mid-wife did an in-home delivery of that baby from her weight lifting bulge photos, with their other two home-delivered children observing. All are doing well, and none of them are getting vaccinations, which are much more dangerous than working out while pregnant.
Sources for this article include:
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com
http://metro.co.uk
http://thepeopleschemist.com
http://science.naturalnews.com
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