How do you announce your pregnancy to important people in your life?

A new baby comes with many physical and emotional changes for mom and dad. Often, these emotions are shared with family, friends, and co-workers. Sharing the feelings of happiness, angst and even sadness are contingent upon telling people about the pregnancy. Mom will not typically start showing until she is past her 4th or 5th month of pregnancy. But that does not give her boss much time to prepare a work replacement. When is the right time to tell others about your new baby?

How do you tell family and friends that you are pregnant?

There are no set time limits for the perfect time to tell family and friends that you are pregnant. Some women feel comfortable enough to tell everyone the moment they find out and others wait until the first trimester is over, especially if they have experienced a miscarriage in the past. The best rule of thumb is to follow your heart. If a miscarriage were to occur, family and friends are there for emotional support.

How to announce your pregnancy in 12 steps!

How do you inform your employer of your pregnancy?

It is not a legal responsibility in most states that you have to tell an employer that you are pregnant. Pregnancy is a federally protected health condition that should not be used as a reason for job loss.

For major corporations, the human resources department can be notified if the employee feels they need to prepare the business for the birth of the baby and missed work. Before telling your job, you may want to inform yourself about the specific policies of your job.

Other factors that may also play a role when to tell is what kind of job you have, whether you have an active job or a sedentary job, or whether you are exposed to potentially harmful conditions.

Pregnant women who have strenuous jobs or those that require heavy lifting should probably inform their employer far sooner than other employees. Working with chemicals, paint, or being exposed to other hazards also fall into the early tell category. Many businesses have guidelines in place to adjust job descriptions and expectations until the pregnancy is over.

If everything goes well, there is nothing wrong with waiting until the third trimester to tell employers about your pregnancy, though many want to know earlier.