Top 20 Funniest Ways TV Shows Hid Pregnancies

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#20: Ellen Pompeo
“Grey’s Anatomy” (2005-)

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When actress Ellen Pompeo became pregnant during season six, the medical drama resorted to the usual tricks to hide her growing bump. She was given baggy outfits, hidden behind large objects and of course, there were the obligatory shoulder-up only shots. However, as the bump became harder to hide, they created a storyline that worked both to hide her pregnancy and later explained her absence when she went on maternity leave. Meredith Grey undergoes surgery to donate a part of her liver to her estranged father, leaving her on bed rest. The story might have seemed far-fetched to some, but at least it served its purpose.

During season four, both female leads of this sitcom were expecting, but for now, we’ll be focusing on Cobie Smulders. As any fan of the show knows, Robin not only doesn’t want kids, but also later learns that she can’t have them either. The show’s executive producer and co-creator, Craig Thomas said that after she shared her happy news, the writers decided to find “a way to write around it or have fun with it”. And the further along she got, the bigger the props they hid her behind. Director Pamela Fryman even joked that they had “the biggest purses of any show on the air”.

Debra Messing was pregnant during the show’s sixth season and attempts to cover it up were deemed laughable by the fans. Grace is known for her tight-fitting outfits, so it was pretty obvious when she suddenly switched to wearing exaggeratedly baggy clothes. And did you notice she spent an awful lot of time on the sofa? Many critics and even fans called the sitcom out on its lackluster attempts at the time. If somehow you still managed to miss all the signs, then you were probably left quite confused when Grace was suddenly missing during the final few episodes of the season.

Patricia Heaton had to hide her pregnancy not just once, but during two different seasons of “Everybody Loves Raymond”. To cover this up, she would often be shot sitting at a table, covered by a blanket, or wearing a lot of loose clothing. However, in the season one episode “Why Are We Here?” we get a flashback as Debra and Ray try to remember why they moved across from his parents in the first place. Taking place three years earlier, we see Ally as a baby and Debra pregnant with the twins. But the bump we see is actually Heaton’s third child.

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#16: Sarah Jessica Parker
“Sex and the City” (1998-2004)

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Although both Cynthia Nixon and her character Miranda were pregnant during the show’s run, when SJP was expecting in season 5, it just didn’t make sense for her character Carrie to be pregnant. So instead they used Carrie’s love of fashion to cover up her growing bump - to varying degrees of success - although there are definitely moments where it’s impossible not to see her belly. They also decided that rather than the usual 18-average episode, they would cut the season short to accommodate the actress. Some fans even thought that the baby made a cameo as Aidan’s kid, but Sarah Jessica Parker has since set the record straight on that.

Fans of the political thriller were so amused with the countless creative ways that the series hid Washington’s pregnancy that calling them out almost became like a game to them. In Season 6, her character was hidden behind random objects like lamps, monitors, other characters, vases, and of course, her big Prada purse. They also relied on big coats or capes and some very, erm, creative camera angles to keep her pregnancy out of sight. Even Washington saw the funny side of the team’s efforts. She told “Good Morning America” that “you could play a really fun game for the first...five episodes of ‘find the bump’”.

What do you do when your actress is so far along that you can no longer rely on large objects and carefully planned camera angles alone? Well, when Gillian Anderson was pregnant during the second season of “The X-Files”, they had Scully abducted by aliens. They’re seen performing experiments on the FBI agent, which explains her suddenly enlarged belly. There was even behind-the-scenes talk of Scully giving birth to an alien baby at one point. Allegedly, Fox wanted to re-cast the actress after learning that she was expecting, but creator Chris Carter fought for her to stay and found this supernatural solution instead.

A zombie apocalypse probably isn’t the best time to get pregnant, which is likely why they chose not to write this one into the show. However, the actress, who played Tara, was pregnant for a lot of the sixth season - and if you go back and watch it again, you’ll notice that she’s often hiding behind a variety of objects. Still, with a zombie uprising, there’s no time to rest so it was business as usual with plenty of action and lots of zombie-killing. To give the then-heavily pregnant actress a break, Tara is sent on a two-week supply run during the season’s last few episodes.

Fans of this sitcom will know that Angela Martin was “Little Preg” in Season 8– but in season 4, actress Angela Kinsey was pregnant in real life. Since her character wasn’t pregnant this time, she used some typical and not-so-typical ways to hide her baby bump. Playing a character in an office environment sure came in handy. Angela was often filmed in her cubicle, at the Xerox machine, or hiding behind objects. But in a particularly memorable scene from Season 4’s “Goodbye, Toby,” Angela and Dwight find themselves in a… compromising position, to say the least. She might’ve been caught in the act, but her pregnancy wasn’t!

With two storylines always playing out in parallel throughout this series, it undoubtedly posed a challenge for the writers when Goodwin - who played Snow White and Mary Margaret Blanchard - announced her pregnancy. Season 3 was very complicated as it is, and here we had one character who could freely show her growing bump, while the other was hidden under humongous cloaks. They also later half-wrote Emilie de Ravin’s pregnancy into Belle’s storyline into season 5.. While Belle is pregnant, she puts herself under a sleeping curse to protect the baby after Rumple’s unfortunate deal with Hades. This worked both in explaining her absence and ensuring that she wouldn’t appear further along than Belle.

Who among us didn’t share in Monica and Chandler’s heartbreak when they learned that they wouldn’t be able to conceive a baby? Instead, we followed them on their adoption journey, where they would eventually become parents to twins in a surprise twist. However, not long after this story-arc began, actress Courteney Cox announced her own pregnancy and the showrunners had no other choice but to try to creatively - though not always successfully - use baggy clothes and huge props to cover her up. However, as the weeks progressed, it became harder and harder not to notice. As the season headed into its finale, there was no denying that the actress was pregnant.

This actress has openly discussed gaining eighty pounds during her pregnancy. Instead of making Carrie Heffernan pregnant, this sitcom embraced Leah’s weight gain in a very convenient way. In a recurring storyline, Carrie finds herself looking for work, but also lounging around in sweats or a bathrobe – perfect outfits for concealing a baby bump! She can also be seen clutching a pillow on her stomach, or relaxing in bed. Carrie finds work just as Leah’s pregnancy becomes more noticeable, giving her more ways to hide her bump. We actually get brief shots of her pregnancy towards the season finale, but overall, we’d say this cover-up worked in Carrie and Leah’s favor.

Elaine Benes didn’t have kids of her own, but Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a mother of two. Julia was pregnant throughout Season 3 of “Seinfeld.” Since Elaine wasn’t expecting, the producers had to get creative. There were the usual larger coats and hiding behind objects. In Season 3’s “The Subway,” Elaine is on her way to a lesbian wedding, wearing an oversized red coat and carrying her gift on her stomach. Things get claustrophobic pretty quick, and the subway stalls for what seems like an eternity. What results is Elaine’s totally relatable and hilarious internal monologue. Pregnant or not, we’ve all been there. Elaine also went to Europe for the first couple episodes of Season 4, returning after Julia’s maternity leave.

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#7: Jane Leeves
“Frasier” (1993-2004)

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While Niles and Daphne have their own baby in the series finale, Jane Leeves was pregnant throughout Season 8. Instead of hiding the pregnancy in a conventional way, the show had an ingenious solution. Daphne starts overeating, and even hides snacks around the apartment. Strangely enough, everyone but Niles seems to notice. That is, until she falls and can’t get up. After some heavy lifting by Niles, Frasier, and Martin Crane, she’s back up again. As her overeating goes from bad to worse, Niles suggests she goes to a weight loss retreat, which explains her absence for a few episodes. As far as covering up a pregnancy goes, this way is funny, clever, and poignant all at once.

This actress, who played Maxwell Sheffield’s business partner C.C. Babcock, was expecting throughout Season 5 of “The Nanny.” C.C. drops some very obvious hints that Lauren Lane is having a baby. She first jokes about another pregnant sitcom star, and carries the usual large props. In an especially funny scene, C.C. later enters with a giant sign that says, “BABY.” There’s no subtlety whatsoever, but that’s what makes it work. As Lauren’s pregnancy progressed, so did Maxwell, Fran, and C.C.’s love triangle. After Maxwell and Fran become engaged in a later episode, the devastated C.C. is institutionalized. But not to worry – she comes back soon enough!

Being a doctor is not an easy job, especially at Seattle Grace. Ever wonder why Lexie stuffed her face in Season 5? In real life, Chyler Leigh was pregnant – so while “Grey’s Anatomy” used the usual filming techniques to hide her baby bump, they also made Lexie stress eat. Lexie chows down at home, but especially at work. She’s also got quite the sweet tooth, craving Reese’s cups, Twinkies, and chocolate. Frankly, we don’t blame her. All this stress eating causes Lexie to put on a bit of weight, which leads to a brutally honest, but cheeky comment from sister Meredith. Humongous butt or not, though, the Greys are as close as ever.

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#4: Jane Krakowski
“30 Rock” (2006-13)

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To quote “30 Rock” executive producer Robert Carlock, “No child should have Jenna Maroney for a mother.” So when Jane Krakowski became pregnant with her son, the show went to great lengths to hide her bump. They started out with conventional tricks, like having Jenna hold bags and filming her sitting down, but as her pregnancy continued, they came up with more unique ideas. The notoriously non-maternal Jenna suddenly really wants a baby, and even has a hysterical pregnancy. In the fifth season finale, Jenna outdoes herself, walking around Central Park in an oversized dog costume. “30 Rock” not only covered up Jane’s pregnancy, but they also used it to her character’s advantage.

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#3: Melissa Fumero
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (2013-)

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Unlike some other shows on this list, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” didn’t always hide Melissa Fumero’s pregnancy. Early on, they chose the usual oversized bags, coats, and even a gift basket. But as Season 3 progressed, the show decided to make the most out of her growing bump. In the episode “Maximum Security,” Amy goes undercover as a pregnant prisoner after Rosa’s fake bump backfires. While Amy’s real identity is under wraps, her pregnancy sure isn’t! She tries to get information from inmate Maura Figgis, putting herself in all kinds of danger – well, at least Jake thinks so. Amy earns Maura’s trust regardless, making her one badass mama-to-be on and off-screen.

This actress’ second pregnancy was written into Season 7 of this beloved sitcom. However, the show decided to hide Alyson’s first pregnancy in Season 4 – that is, until we learn about The Gang’s résumés. While the friends discuss entries that don’t have anything to do with their current jobs, Lily’s résumé shows her to be quite the competitive eater. Back in 1995, Lily won a hot dog eating contest after downing 29 dogs in only 8 minutes. As she is proclaimed the winner, Lily “The Belly” Aldrin lives up to her nickname, revealing Alyson’s real-life baby bump. Hilarious and incredibly creative, this pregnancy is undeniably legen – wait for it – dary.

For much of “New Girl’s” fifth season, this adorkable actress and singer was pregnant. The show used conventional and not so conventional ways to hide her growing bump. In the season premiere, Zooey was not far along, so they stuck to the usual baggier clothes and hiding behind objects. And of course, no premiere is complete without Jess falling down stairs and using a motorized scooter. By episode 3, Zooey was further along, so Jess began serving on jury duty, which gave her plenty of screen time sitting down. Meanwhile, Megan Fox’s Reagan served as a replacement roommate until Jess’ return.