#WHEN SHOULD YOU ANNOUNCE YOUR PREGNANCY HOW TO#
#WHEN SHOULD YOU ANNOUNCE YOUR PREGNANCY PROFESSIONAL#

In an ideal world, to keep everything running smoothly, and all parties satisfied with how things move forward, you might consider telling your boss at the end of your first trimester, or at the beginning of your second, HR and employment professional Marissa Letendre of My Resume Seed tells Romper. Knowing the company culture, and speaking to other people who have gone through it is one way to help determine what your situation might look like. And by all means, if you are experiencing issues, or if you’re worried about retaliation, what you choose to disclose, and when you choose to do it are valid, protected choices. It’s critically important to know that whatever you choose is protected by the law. “Your employer can't ask and you don't have to tell them until you are ready.” But we all know that what your company’s HR thinks you should do and what you’re legally required to do are two different things. She understands that “many women are concerned about backlash,” but from a legal standpoint, you are on solid ground.

#WHEN SHOULD YOU ANNOUNCE YOUR PREGNANCY HOW TO#

Instead, she tells Romper that at least “for planning purposes you will probably want to give them enough advance notice so that you know when and how maternity leave will work, and so you can figure out how to add your child to your insurance policy.” It turns out that legally there is no set time when you should tell your employer that you’re pregnant, says Kelly DuFord Williams, founder and managing partner at Slate Law Group. As someone who has experienced multiple miscarriages, I know the fine line we tiptoe as we decide when we think it’s “safe.” That date is often a moving target as scans are completed and blood is drawn. There are also the deeply-personal reasons for not wanting to share a pregnancy for those first few weeks when the risk of miscarriage is the highest. Let’s face it - it’s likely never going to be an easy thing to tell your boss, and you need to be prepared for a variety of reactions, whether they are positive or negative. It may mean that office arrangements are going to need to shift. It might mean that you have to change your duties if you’re in a physical job. It’s a genuine worry that many people who get pregnant have.Īnd even if you know that your job is safe, timing when to tell your boss you’re pregnant can be fraught with complexities you might not have considered. Famously, Senator Elizabeth Warren was fired from her position as a special education teacher when she disclosed her pregnancy, as The New York Times reported. Unfortunately, this garbage has been happening for as long as women have been in the workforce. How many of us have heard stories about parents who were let go from their jobs when they told their boss they were pregnant? Yes, it’s absolutely against the law to do so, but we all know that there are ways around this (negative evaluations, downsizing, grievance airing that just happen to line up with the time you announce your pregnancy). Was it actually good advice? How do you know when to tell your boss you’re pregnant?

I remember a professor of Women’s Studies in my undergraduate years telling all the students “My G-d, if you get pregnant, don’t tell them until you’re showing at least, if you can get away with it.” I thought it was odd at the time, but never really thought about it again until I got pregnant.

When should you announce your pregnancy