Knocked up and knocked off the corporate ladder

It's hard to hide a stomach that's inflating like a beach ball. Just ask Jennifer Lopez.

She's been swaddling her baby bump in designer circus tents for months to hide what her mother claims are twins. Although Jenny has yet to confirm her mom's rumors, she has cleared her calendar for a three-month break next year, according to TransWorldNews.com . No word yet on whether her maternity leave will be paid or not.

It seems like J.Lo. is the only person not talking about her pregnancy. An unconfirmed baby bump is a hot accessory in the "Hollywood Handbook of Building a Buzz."

If only expectant moms in the real world could afford to be so coy.

Even though policies in employee handbooks have to abide by federal standards, claims to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission based on pregnancy discrimination have jumped 45 percent since 1992. Such devolution makes the state of a woman's womb in the workplace sound as appealing as swollen feet and morning sickness.

Expectant mothers should be excited about their new baby, not fearful of demotions, reduced pay, replacements and denied promotions when they let their boss know they have a personal life outside of the office. It seems as if employers don't know how to handle the fact that 46 percent of the national work force is now capable of becoming pregnant.

A woman's reproductive capabilities or intentions are not a scary thing -- we learned that in middle school sex ed. What is scary is that so many offices still operate under archaic codes and policies written when a women's place was in the kitchen.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is known for her conservative opinions as a co-host on "The View," but last week, she started what most would call a pretty liberal maternity leave. The show's Web site has a schedule of celebrity co-hosts who are filling until she returns in January.

ABC couldn't demote Hasselbeck or cheat her on maternity leave without some majorly publicized consequences, but it's easier for employers to discriminate against women who don't chronicle their pregnancies on national television. Moms-to-be don't even have a national paid maternity leave policy to depend on -- it's up to individual employers to decide how long they'll pay their female workers to be at home with their newborns.

Pregnant women are supposed to avoid heavy lifting and too much standing, but they shouldn't be knocked off the corporate ladder by their employers.