When to announce your pregnancy
How to announce your pregnancy to family and friends
How to announce your pregnancy to work
How to announce your pregnancy on social media
When to announce your pregnancy
Lots of people wait until around the 12-week mark to officially announce their pregnancy. This is largely because of the elevated risk of miscarriage during the first trimester, with expectant parents waiting until they’ve been given the all clear by the doctor at their pregnancy dating scan, which usually takes place between 10 and 14 weeks.
This isn’t a hard and fast rule, though, and you should choose to reveal your wonderful news whenever the time feels right. Lots of soon-to-be-parents tell family and close friends earlier than this – as the first trimester can be tricky and moral support from loved ones can help ease the burden – and then make a wider announcement at the 12-week stage.
“We didn’t tell a soul until after our pregnancy dating scan. Both my parents and my husband’s parents were desperate for grandchildren, and we wanted to make sure we were through the rollercoaster ride of the first trimester before we shared the news. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.” – Kim, mum to Chan, two
How to announce your pregnancy to family and friends
When it comes to revealing your pregnancy to your nearest and dearest, it can feel like a bit of a minefield – if you let it! Who do you tell first, for example? Your parents? Or your partner’s parents?
My husband and I told our respective parents and then let them tell everyone else. Less stress for us
Lydia, mum to Aidan, 2
As there’s no one size fits all answer to the question of when to announce your pregnancy to your family and friends, we’d just advise that you try not to overthink it. Just do what feels right for you and causes you the least amount of stress, whether that’s writing a list of everyone you’d like to tell personally, and then calling or texting them one by one, or inviting all your friends and loved ones over for a party and making the announcement when everyone’s in the same room.
Believe it or not, most people will just be happy for you however they find out.
“Oh goodness, our pregnancy announcement. My sister put it on social media before we’d quite finished telling everyone, and my auntie found out that way and it caused a huge family rift for a while. My advice is to keep it to yourself until you’ve worked out all the finer details. Although, to be fair, I think my family is an outlier – we all fell out over a Christmas trifle once.” – Kathryn, mum to Amy, three
“My husband and I told our respective parents and then let them tell everyone else. Less stress for us!” – Lydia, mum to Aidan, 2
How to announce your pregnancy at work
When it comes to work and announcing your pregnancy, it’s best that your boss – if you have one – doesn’t find out second hand (from, say, an excitable colleague or, worse, social media).
Decide when you’re going to tell them, then schedule some time in their diary for a face-to-face meeting (either in person or remotely if currently working from home). They’ll appreciate your candour, and it will help generate trust for the months ahead.
If you can, also try to read up on your company’s maternity policies, so you know exactly what you are and aren’t entitled to. If you have any concerns or queries, consult human resources. There are legal responsibilities that your company must fulfil.
If you’re not formally employed, and instead work for yourself or as a contractor, it’s also worth reading up on your maternity rights and then planning accordingly. For example, letting your clients know in plenty of time.
“I actually told my work earlier than my family that I was pregnant. I had to, as my first trimester was rough, and I suffered quite badly with morning sickness. I have to say it, they were absolutely fantastic and told me to take time off whenever I needed it.” – Elined, mum to Kya, 1
How to announce your pregnancy on social media
If coming up with a clever concept to announce your pregnancy appeals to you, then you should absolutely run with it. Having a baby is a joyous thing and you should shout it as loudly, proudly and ingeniously as you want (search for ‘pregnancy announcement ideas’ on Google and you’ll find literally thousands).
If the thought of all the extra attention fills you with horror, however, then it’s best to keep your pregnancy announcement low-key. Just tell the people you really would like to know and leave it at that. There’s enough pressure at this time anyway, without piling more on yourself.
“My parents had bought my wife and I one of those vouchers for an hour with a professional photographer, so, as well as asking him to take some general images, we thought we’d combine two birds with one stone and put our young daughter in a t-shirt with the words ‘I’m going to be a big sister’ on it. We then put that on social media when we were ready to make the announcement. It seemed like a nice way of doing it and was very well received.” – Ali, dad to Brooke, three and Mikey, one
“I’m slightly embarrassed about our pregnancy announcement now, as I’m not normally one for big public gestures, but my partner and I were so excited and came up with this idea involving bags of ice, our ultrasound picture and us dancing around, which we’d seen in one of those ‘cutest pregnancy announcement ideas’ articles. Everyone loved it and I think it’s my most-liked post ever, but I do find myself cringing slightly now when I think of it. Would I do it again? You know what? Probably. I did not-so-secretly love all the fuss!” – Valarie, mum to Maura, four
If you found this guide helpful, you might like to read some of the other features on our Parenting Hub? For example…
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