A pregnant Russian woman who took to the slopes wearing nothing but a string bikini and helmet is inciting both praise and criticism on social media.
The bizarre footage shows a heavily pregnant woman posing for the camera and skiing downhill while wearing a red and yellow bikini. Meanwhile her fellow skiers, dressed in slightly warmer clothing, appear to look on in amusement.
The Instagram clip, which has been viewed more than 86,000 times, has caused somewhat of a divide between the hundreds of commenters. The range of opinions included praise for women for refusing to let pregnancy slow her down – and for flaunting her human-growing figure to boot.
While others criticized the expectant mother for risking her unborn baby’s well being by opening herself up to a cold, at best, and hypothermia at worst, with some claiming the woman shouldn’t have been skiing at all for risk of falling on her bump.
“She is putting her baby at risk: she can fall down herself, or somebody may ram right into her,” wrote on commenter. “If a person lives a full life, it is more likely healthy than dangerous. I am jealous of her being free of any inhibitions,” weighed in another.
Winter sports like skiing and ice skating are generally not recommended after 20 weeks as falling over could cause premature labor or a fetal injury, however moderate cross-country skiing is fine.