When you find out you are pregnant, you are probably overjoyed – but when to tell people you are pregnant is one of the first big questions that stops you in your happy tracks. You might be tempted to tell everyone you know, or you might want to keep the pregnancy a sweet secret for now. Typically, society tells us not to announce a pregnancy until the risk of miscarriage is over. But when to announce pregnancy is a personal decision.

When Is the Best Time to Announce Pregnancy?

Deciding when to announce pregnancy depends upon many factors, including your own personal beliefs. Most people choose to wait for twelve weeks because that is the point where miscarriage is much less likely; they might not want to deal with giving the happy news, only to have to give bad news a few weeks later. However, some want to tell people before that point, so that if they do miscarry, they have a lot of support to help them through the loss.

Some people are also very superstitious and believe that announcing too early brings bad luck, and might actually bring on a miscarriage.

Is It Bad to Announce Early?

Some women have no choice but to announce pregnancy early. For instance, Duchess Kate — the wife of Prince William – wound up in the hospital quite early in her pregnancy, thanks to dehydration from severe morning sickness. Therefore, the palace confirmed her pregnancy well before the traditional twelve-week point, to avoid public scrutiny and rumors about why she was hospitalized. Many women suffer the same intense sickness she did, and might find it tough to explain to friends and family why they are so sick all the time. Telling about the pregnancy sooner makes it immediately clear what is wrong, and offers reassurance that it will get better!

And some people really don’t like to keep secrets, especially from their cherished loved ones. When to announce pregnancy is earlier rather than later for those individuals who want to share every aspect of their lives with those they love.

Another Option

If you aren’t sure when to tell, you can always wait until you have quite physical proof of your situation. Some women will choose to reveal the gender and their pregnancy by sharing a beautiful twenty-week ultrasound shot. At this point, your odds of losing the baby are very small, and the timing allows friends and family several months to get excited about the new addition. Besides that, at the twenty-week point, most problems babies might have will be evident, and that can give you time to figure out how to share news that isn’t so wonderful, if that happens to be the case with your pregnancy.

Ultimately, the most important thing is to disclose your pregnancy when you are ready, and not one second before. What is happening in your body is, ultimately, no one’s business but your own.

When to Tell Your Children

Most experts believe that when it comes to telling children, it is best to wait until screening tests are done and you have started to show. It’s always best to tell your child before you spill the beans to the rest of the world, as you don’t want them to be confused when you get congratulations from others – and you don’t want them to feel left out. Choose a special, quiet time to sit down with your child and tell them the great news.

What to Consider When Announcing Your Pregnancy

Once you decide when to announce pregnancy, how do you go about it? Who gets told first? Obviously your spouse or partner should already know, and any children should be told as well. But after that, you will have to decide in what order to tell others.

• It is always important to start with friends and family first. Make sure that they all know – you don’t want someone finding out from another person and then feeling as though they were left out of the loop. Start with those who are closest to you and work your way out from there.
• After that, you can announce the pregnancy via social media, email, or other means. Before you do this, however, take a close look at your list of ‘friends’ on places like Facebook. In some cases, there might be people there that don’t need to know about your pregnancy, or that you are uncomfortable sharing that news with.
• Note: Keep in mind that coworkers might spill the beans to your boss before you are ready so it’s better to tell your boss before you announce on social media where all people learn the news.
• There might be some who could actually be hurt by the news of your pregnancy, such as friends or family who have been struggling with infertility for years. For those individuals, tell them in person, and make sure to be kind about their own struggles. Remind them that your pregnancy in no way detracts from their struggles, and you still wish them the pregnancy they dream of having.

And finally, make sure that you announce it in a classy way. A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t do it in person, don’t do it online. For instance, if you wouldn’t show your friends and family the pregnancy test or a picture of your big belly, don’t put that kind of thing online. There are many other classy ways to announce your pregnancy!

More About Telling at Work

In most cases, you can wait until after your first trimester to tell your boss what is going on. However, there might be some exceptions. If you work in a stressful or strenuous job, or one where you are exposed to chemicals, you might want to tell your boss immediately in order to move to an area that isn’t so dangerous for your pregnancy. In addition, if you are having pregnancy complications that might interfere with work, your boss needs to know this.

HERE is more about when to tell people you are pregnant and nice ways to announce your pregnancy.