Can you give Olivia some advice? She writes, “When did you tell your boss you’re pregnant, and how did you make the announcement? I am a serious introvert and I am not looking forward to all of the well-meant questions and comments from co-workers about how I’m feeling, how big my bump is getting, etc. One of my colleagues was pregnant last year and it was the main topic of conversation in the office for her entire pregnancy, brought up at every meeting, etc. Would it be weird to just not tell anyone until the baby is born? Seriously, how do other introverts/private people handle this?”
We reached out to our Facebook community to see what other women thought…about when to tell your boss you’re pregnant…
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Just keep it to yourself till you must tell your boss because of maternity leave application
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I told my boss after the 12-week mark (being an ex-teacher you’re required to give 8 week’s notice before going on leave) as a fellow introvert I just told people as it was appropriate during conversation, no big announcements or anything. I also told my boss that I didn’t want a big fuss made which people generally respected and so all the well-meaning conversations didn’t happen terribly often
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I would only tell your boss once you are around 12-16weeks as they do need to plan who will take over your workload , and just tell them you won’t be making it known to others until/or if it becomes rather obvious but you would prefer to be as private as possible until you start maternity leave.
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You definitely get treated differently once they know. People tried stopping me doing some physical aspects of my job, I had to keep reminding them it’s not a disability
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Tell 1 person that will tell everyone else for you
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I told my boss after 12 weeks… I only have a few work colleagues so told them as well, as for announcing pregnancies on Facebook I never do until my babies are born
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I’m a teacher so had many kids and parents in my life . Everyone respected my wish to keep it all low key … i just trucked on as normal … think that helped the most.
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I had a 9am rule – no questions/comments/baby talk after 9am!
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I told my boss at 6 weeks because of the job I had(calf rearing) and asked her to keep it quiet. but only told work mates at 13 weeks, again heavy lifting and couldn’t help drench. Most people found out at 4-5 months. I’m not big on the fuss. Also what clothes you wear can hide or show bubs.
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I’m super introverted….hate being the centre of attention, get bad anxiety…but i had to tell my boss at about 9weeks as i was super sick and took a whole week off. If your not sick, then id tell your boss just to keep them in the loop, and ask that they not make a public announcement! After all…its your business, no one else’s. But I’d say they will appreciate knowing so when/if you need time off for appointments etc you don’t have to make up a reason!
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I told my boss and work mates as soon as I found out, but that was because I was doing extremely heavy lifting and physical work.
I would keep your boss informed but ask them to keep it confidential until you feel you are ready to tell your co-workers. Good luck. And Congratulations:)
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Don’t tell them. If they ask, then confirm but just be honest and say I’m a private person and rather no discuss
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told work at around 16 weeks or so for both. I work in the public service and our organisation is huge on “safe workplace”, no bullying, no (sexual) harassment. And comment re appearance and baby bump are not appropriate under those policies (and common sense!)
Maybe something like that applies to your workplace too? Otherwise consider saying something to your boss about how you’d rather keep your pregnancy private, also after you’ve told colleagues.
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Do what feels right for you, everyone’s different. If you don’t want to tell, then don’t or just tell your manager and it’s kept confidential. Good luck, I found I gave off looks of don’t touch me when I was pregnant lol people did double takes if they went to touch my belly 😂
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I told my boss once I was 3 months so to give them a chance to find a decent replacement round the end when I took my leave, they were totally awesome and gave me my job back when I was ready to come back 🙂
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I was so sick with HG everyone found out when I was 9 weeks. Longest pregnancies ever.
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All three of my pregnancies I had to tell them right away, as I was incredibly sick and running off to spew all the time – so they needed to know me always running off to the loo was not me taking the piss, I was genuinely sick! It’s your choice but your boss kind of needs to know as some point to plan your maternity leave cover (regardless if you are going back to work or not)
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I sent an email
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Learnt my lesson with first baby, keep them guessing as long as possible.
By baby #4 I only told most people after 26 weeks (including my parents) and was still denying it to colleagues between labour pains. It’s none of their business
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If you intend on returning, I believe your employer needs to know about 3 months prior to you going on maternity leave. Otherwise, do it when you feel like it.
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I told my work Mums (most of my close friend colleagues are the same age as my parents!) early – they’re like my besties so couldn’t keep it from them. I didn’t tell my boss till 12 weeks.
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I can relate!!!! I kept my second pregnancy hidden until about 17 weeks cause I was so nervous to tell people – although I’m sure they could all tell by then as I was definitely not small 🤣 maybe just tell your boss and ask them that you would prefer if people didn’t draw attention to it.
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Notice that employees must give their employer
If you or your spouse or partner are having a baby and want to take parental leave or negotiated carer leave you must write to your employer at least three months before the baby’s expected due date. i got this off the employment NZ site.
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I told people as I felt it was appropriate, one colleague guessed about a week after I’d found out, we had a big lunch coming up and I mentioned that I was keen to help with the catering (so I could make sure there was stuff for me to eat). I told my boss a few days later as we were discussing my workload after I finished a large piece of work
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I told my boss in private and I only told workmates I consider friends. I never made an announcement at work or on Facebook, eventually everyone knew obviously but I didn’t get any weird comments from anyone.
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As an introvert, and an incredibly private person, I identify with your fear about this being an excuse for people to be in your business… and it is. Grit your teeth for some initial interest but actually most people don’t make ongoing inquiries
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I had to tell people at about 8 weeks. The numerous vomit buckets, me constantly running to the toilet to vomit and struggling to function due to crippling all day vomiting was hard to hide
ETA I told my boss the day I returned to work because of how unwell I was (found out I was pregnant on our honeymoon. Had to take another week off due to morning sickness when I got back home)
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I had to tell my boss at 7 weeks as I was pregnant with triplets and had HG so was in and out of hospital. Was good because when I lost one of them at 9 weeks she was great about it but it was so hard being the one who lost one of her babies. And then there’s the twin fascination too so as an introvert it was painful. Maybe tell your boss quietly when 14 -18 weeks and say you’d prefer it to be between the two of you as long as possible.
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I couldn’t hide it as I had severe morning sickness and I’m a nurse so pretty obvious to my colleagues. I would say though tell your manager early so they can start the process of hiring someone to cover your maternity leave. We all know interviews etc take time and they appreciate if you are able to hand over your own role to someone temporarily. your manager will keep it confidential though if you ask. Congratulations 😊
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I kept my first baby to myself until around 20 weeks (apart from telling my boss early on).
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I unfortunately had to tell my manager early about 6 weeks due to morning sickness. Once I was over the morning sickness I told my close colleagues and the rest of my work either only found out through others or didn’t realise
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I told my boss very early. But only because of my epilepsy and because it meant that I would need to leave work constantly for extra scans and hospital appointments. I didn’t tell my workmates until I was 3 months.
if you do need maternity clothes to wear to work – then do check out our range of Maternity Clothes
