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Look Out, Miss America: It's A Pregnant Bikini Pageant! Awesome.

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Jenna McCarthy on Sep 9, 2011 at 6:01PM

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Look Out, Miss America: It's A Pregnant Bikini Pageant! Awesome.

Jordan Graber

Pregnant Pageant Contestants Flaunt Their Bodacious Bumps

I grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida, where parading around in a bikini was a year-round sport. Like everyone else, I did it -- shyly, sometimes slyly -- but I never felt fabulous (and my sarong was never far behind). In fact, the only time in my life when I was able to strut my next-to-naked body in two tiny scraps of Lycra confidently was, perhaps ironically, when I was pregnant. Talk about freedom! There was no need to suck in my gut, and I had temporarily massive porn-star hooters that made it near impossible to look anywhere else. Sure, my rear view wasn’t so hot, but for once I didn’t care. I was a life-giving goddess and happy to flaunt the very visible proof.

Too bad I didn’t know about this pageant back then. In Texas, gestating mamas-to-be are encouraged to don their teeniest bikinis and vie for the coveted Rod Ryan Pre-Labor Day Pregnant Bikini Contest crown. (There is a a diaper changing and throwing contest before the bikini round -- no joke!) The conservative crowd might cry “too much info!” Others -- like me -- think it’s about time we celebrated our baby-making bods and all of their fertile, fabulous glory. Take a look at a few of our favorite moments from the pageant action.

Standing Room Only
This is actually the line for the bathroom. (Just kidding.)