An added problem for reality stars -- and any celebrity living in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, for that matter -- is that fans feel like they literally know their favorite famous people. Kylie's situation is particularly extreme because the world has watched her grow up. We know how she was home-schooled, we know what the inside of her house looks like, we know what she drives, we know how she babies her dogs, we know her siblings and her parents, and her workout regime. Now she's having an actual baby? Well, the world feels entitled to be part of that too. Which is probably why Jenner had the good sense to keep her pregnancy secret for the first five months of it, instead of the customary three.

The media's love affair with baby bumps runs so deep that female celebrities can't so much as eat a big meal without magazines wondering aloud if they are expecting. On the occasions when the good news is confirmed by an appropriate number of sources, every publication and website in the country plunges itself into a slightly insane long-distance race. The first hurdle is getting a photo of the baby bump. The second is wondering aloud if the new baby's parents are going to be good enough. The final hurdle is one that requires piling money higher than all other media competitors in order to be the first to get photos of the newborn child. Oh, and once past the finish line, there will be a dehumanizing, months-long analysis of mom's post-baby body.

Talk to enough pregnant women, famous or not, and many of them will tell you the process can become an isolating one -- not because of the physical changes afoot, but because of how differently people treat you. The coverage of Kylie Jenner in the press since the pregnancy announcement is simply a larger, more visible, more extreme version of what most pregnant women go through.

Kylie JennerKylie Jenner

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