From the article: When to Make Your Pregnancy Announcement
Announcing your pregnancy is supposed to be fun. But when you announce it can be something you think about, or not. Do you announce it at the end of the first trimester because you're worried about a miscarriage? Do you announce your pregnancy as soon as the pregnancy test is positive? Share Your Experience
its hard to keep this secret.
- I have just found out that I am pregnant for the first time. In the past I have always said that I would wait at least 3 months before telling anyone but of corse I didn't no how hard it would be. I am only a few weeks into my pregnancy so I feel it is too early to spread the news. My plan is to wait a month before telling my family and tell my friends after 3 months but to be honest I don't think I will be able to keep it quiet for that long. Its nice that me and my partner are the only ones that no at the minute. Its very exciting but we also cant wait to tell people. I dont think you can really plan when you are going to tell people. The excitement will just take over and I think I will just end up slipping up and telling everyone. I cant wait! :-)
- —Guest new mum!
Why you should 'keep mum'
- After having two miscarriages, I think I know why it is best to wait to spread the news. If you miscarry and you have told friends you are pregnant and then have miscarried, you may get friends asking about trying again. It is painful and such a private process that the less people who know, the less people know you are trying and the less people will ask you 'how's it going on the baby making front'. It's a question that can't really be answered. You've either failed again or early pregnant and not really ready to spread news. Either way it puts you in a very awkward position.
- —Guest Vicks
Confide in a Special Few
- Having had three miscarriages and one successful pregnancy that was overshadowed by a poor screening result, I recommend keeping pregnancy mostly to yourself for some time -- at least through the first trimester. That said, it's really important to get support from some family and friends, especially if you're feeling extremely exhausted or ill and can't tolerate food smells. You also may have to tell your boss if you face hazards at your workplace or if you can't do your job as usual. I recommend telling a select few as early as you like -- the kind of people you HAVE to tell for safety reasons, and those that you'd WANT to tell even if you did miscarry or even if you had to make tough choices in the event of a bad diagnosis. This will, at least, give you a small support network and someone to share your excitement!
- —Guest KateC
SECRET
- We told everybody the first time, but then lost the baby, this time we are keeping it secret until after the first trimester. Its fun having such a big secret.
- —HOLDINGTHUMBS
Perfect timing
- I got pregnant in October and the end of my first trimester was just after Christmas. Since my doctor said that my risk for miscarriage goes down at the end of the first trimester, my husband and I decided to let family and friends know the news as a bonus Christmas gift. We had so much fun with it coming up with cool ways to tell them. I also am very glad we waited to tell everyone so that they would not have to go through any disappointment if I had miscarried, especially since it will be the first grandbaby for both mine and my husband's parents. I don't regret keeping it a secret at all.
- —Guest First timer
Wait to tell
- I would advise people to wait to share. With our first baby we announced it right away. It was fun to share the news but we felt like everyone was too involved too soon. We decided with this pregnancy to wait until after our first appointment at ten weeks to share. This gave my husband and I time to share our thoughts and concerns and an amazing secret to ourselves. After everyone knows we will be ready to share, but right now we are happy keeping it a secret.
- —Guest 5 weeks & counting
Right away!
- We told everyone right away with our first two pregnancies. But after two miscarriages we learned to keep our mouths shut, figuring it would be easier to not have to explain it to everyone. But then when pregnancy number three was also a miscarriage, we had no support because no one had known we were pregnant. So we found it harder to say, "Well, we were pregnant, and now we're not, that's why we're sad..." Though interestingly enough now, as I had more kids, I said nothing for the longest time, rarely ever making an official announcement. I just let the belly tell the story!
- —pregnancy
