Announcing Your Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the ultimate gift to every couple, and one can’t think of anything else that would suddenly lighten up any marriage the way it does. The knowledge that you have a life growing inside you and that it will be in your arms in nine months is overwhelming. You probably can’t wait to tell everyone about it and get ready to be a mommy. While almost everyone prefers to announce it as a surprise, some women have absolutely no idea how to go about the business of announcing their pregnancy. Here are some factors you should keep in mind when deciding when to tell the news:

WHO ARE YOU TELLING?

In most cases, the partner of the woman is always the first to know. This does not have to be the case for you, especially when you are not sure how he will react. It depends on what terms both of you are in.

Ideally, the first person to know should be the one closest to you. This is the person who will most likely support you and add turn up the excitement a few notches up. If this is your husband or partner, go right ahead and spring some good news on them! Your best friend? Your mom? Don’t hesitate. You might be overloaded with baby toys and kids furniture shortly after your announcement. 

You could, however, wait until you are comfortable enough to share the news.

HOW DO YOU TELL THEM?

It is advisable to share the news with the ones concerned personally. Remember that announcing such news publicly, say, on social media, may draw much attention and most of it is always unwanted. You will get to hear personal stories and opinions that you really don’t need to hear. You should not even be surprised when someone decides to narrate their harrowing birth experience or how horrible they felt when they were pregnant. Let the ones that need to know in on the news and ask them to keep it to themselves if you don’t want the news spreading everywhere.

UNWANTED PREGNANCY

If you and your partner did not expect to get a baby, then you may want to keep it between yourselves at least for a while. This gives both of you time to deal with your feelings and make a decision before letting other people in on the news. If you don’t have a partner, you could try to keep it to yourself, but since mental health is important, it is advisable to share this news with a close person, say, a sibling or a best friend.

WHEN SHOULD YOU TELL YOUR EMPLOYER?

There is no written law that an employer needs to know when their employee is pregnant unless, of course, it is specified in the employment contract. You can work when pregnant unless you are having very extreme symptoms in which case you should see a doctor. You can wear normal maternity clothes and get on with your job as usual. 

Make sure, however, that you go through your employment contract again to ensure that you are not violating any terms. Give a notice duly before going to labor and follow the right procedures of doing so.