New York Post

Mommy papers, please!

FB group: Prove it

- By MELISSA KLEIN

It’s the mother of all entry requiremen­ts.

A moderator of a popular Upper East Side moms group on Facebook is so fixated on making sure only those with children, or expectant mothers, join the forum, that she is demanding documentat­ion from prospectiv­e members — including sonograms from pregnant women.

“You’re joking about asking women for their pregnancy scans, right?” one former group member recently asked Tiffany Ma, one of three moderators of the UES Mommas page.

“Nope,” she responded, according to the exchange seen by The Post. “It’s the only way we can know they are pregnant.”

When the former member suggested that the request might be upsetting to those who have miscarried or are going through surrogacy or adoption, Ma said “that’s exactly the point. They aren’t allowed in.”

“If they are going through surrogacy, they can provide the legal documents,” she noted.

But the newly pregnant or those at the start of the adoption or surrogacy process aren’t welcome to the club of 40,000 members who discuss issues like strollers and schools.

“We require a heartbeat to let in,” Ma wrote in the exchange.

A fetal heartbeat can usually be detected around six weeks of pregnancy.

Members are also being asked to vet their friends for evidence of motherhood and pregnancy, the former member said, noting she had been asked three times to do so.

She said the demands, particular­ly for legal documents, seemed off base.

“I have relied on this group so tremendous­ly as a resource for my two kids,” the woman said. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

Ma — who became a moderator last year after racism allegation­s roiled the group — said in an interview with The Post that she needed to impose standards to keep out nannies, people who just wanted to sell products, or those who might infringe on members’ privacy.

“They come and they are dangerous to the group. Dangerous to the privacy of other people,” she said.

She said evidence-seeking was done on a “case by case” basis, particular­ly if a Facebook profile did not show any sign of kids or a baby bump. She said documentat­ion could include a scan or discharge papers from an obstetrici­an’s visit.

Those who don’t want to share private informatio­n that may be in adoption or surrogacy papers don’t have to join, she said.

“Being in this group is not a public right,” she said. “Nobody has to come to the group.”

The rules are not clearly posted anywhere on the forum, which prohibits discussion­s on vaccines and “contentiou­s debates or divisive topics.”

The group’s other two moderators did not immediatel­y respond to requests for comment.

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