Laura Henshaw calls out question you should never be asking

It’s a question you should never ask, but a Melbourne woman has revealed she is bombarded with it every day – and she’s had enough.

A popular health and wellness star has revealed she’s been “triggered” after receiving a large number of comments about her body.

Laura Henshaw, a co-founder of the Aussie brand Kic, recently revealed her inbox has been flooded with questions asking if she is pregnant, with the shocking messages claiming to have been sent because she “looks it”.

However, the Melbourne influencer has clapped back at the body-shamers, and described it as the question you should never ask a woman.

“Every now and then one will come through but this year I have had more messages than normal,” she told news.com.au.

“We should never ask someone if they are pregnant for so many reasons – they might be struggling with infertility and be struggling to fall pregnant or have just suffered a miscarriage or they might not want to have children.

“It is a horrible assumption and I hate that we are still making it in 2025.”

Henshaw and her business partner Steph Claire Smith have always been vocal about calling out societal expectations that are enforced on women — whether that’s around motherhood, misogyny or body image.

Discussing the messages regarding her “looking pregnant” on Kicpod, which she hosts alongside Smith, the 32-year-old described the situation as “triggering”.

She said when she faced the height of her body issues during her modelling career, one of the biggest places her mind would focus on was her stomach, as so not only are these messages inappropriate because you never know what someone is going on fertility wise but you never know how they feel about their body.

The Melbourne-based woman shared one of the messages, and co-host Smith called out how dangerous it was to speculate on whether or not a woman was pregnant.

Laura Henshaw has revealed the 'horrible' message she constantly gets. Picture: Instagram/@laura.henshaw

“It’s so inappropriate,” Smith said.

Smith, who is currently pregnant with her second child, said that during her early 20s often there were comments that, in her mind, affirmed her insecurities.

She added that no matter what, it’s best practice to avoid commenting on people’s bodies — even if it was intended as a compliment.

Henshaw also spoke about how society’s obsession with women having flat stomachs has been worsened by breathing techniques shared to help them do so.

She described it as “dangerous” — both to mental and physical health.

“This is so dangerous because it means we aren’t breathing properly — to breathe properly we need to breathe all the way into our stomach — and ‘sucking in’ our bellies actually places extra pressure on our lower back and neck and reduces the space for our organs to live,” she said.

And, Henshaw isn’t wrong. In 2023, Dr Robert Glatter revealed it can cause inefficient breathing and a weakened pelvic floor, leading to incontinence and sexual dysfunction.

People always speculate if she is pregnant. Picture: Instagram/@laura.henshaw

Henshaw, who married Dalton Henshaw in 2021, is unsure about children. Picture: Instagram/@laura.henshaw

Henshaw said the two takeaways from her story were to never speculate on pregnancy, and to never comment on someone’s body as you truly have no idea what they’re going through.

The popular influencer has been incredibly vocal about the fact she is unsure whether or not she wants to have children.

Last year, she launched a podcast aptly titled, Do I want kids?, in which she discussed the issue in depth, giving real insight into why so many young women aren’t sold on becoming mums.

She and Steph Claire Smith called the action inappropriate. Picture: Instagram/@laura.henshaw

She also recently exposed a troll who made a nasty comment about her being unsure when it comes to children.

“Wait until you’re 40 and have no kids. He’ll be quick to move onto a younger model,” the person wrote.

Henshaw read the comment aloud to her husband, Dalton Henshaw, who responded with confusion before saying, “No” and he looked genuinely perplexed by why someone would draw that conclusion.

She said she “sadly” not surprised by the sexist comment at all and shared it on social media to point out that this kind of rhetoric exists in 2025.

“It reinforces the incredibly outdated belief that a woman’s primary purpose in society is to have children – and if we don’t, we’re somehow less ‘worthy’ or not good enough,” she told news.com.au at the time.

Sadly, she thinks the comment reflects the views of “a significant group – both men and some women – who still subscribe to patriarchal beliefs and haven’t evolved with society.”