Telling your work you’re pregnant

annanbby · September 2020

So...how do I do this? I’m a caregiver for the elderly, so my job is very hands on. Because of that, I want my work to know sooner than later just in case I need some sort of adjustment in my work, or if there’s something a client needs that I can’t do (such as lifting or transferring).

The office is about an hour away from where I work, so it seems really far to go just tell them. Is a phone call sufficient? How do I begin that conversation? My manager occasionally stops by client’s homes while I’m on shift to pick up papers or check in, so I see her sometimes. Should I wait and tell her then? Not exactly sure how to break the news, so any advice or stories are helpful!

cmortmain · September 2020

I was really nervous about telling my boss, and my office is also a little over an hour away from home so I didn't want to make the drive just to tell her, and I wasn't sure when I would next see her in person. I ended up just texting my boss, asking her to call me when she got the chance and stating that it wasn't urgent. When she called, we chatted for a few minutes to catch up, and then I let her know I had exciting news - I'm pregnant! Fortunately my boss took it well and was very happy for me. While I definitely would have told her the news in person under normal circumstances, these are not normal circumstances and she was understanding of that.

Before making the phone call, I weighed a few factors - I was fairly confident I'd passed the worst of the miscarriage risk, I was starting to show, and some of my co-workers/our mutual acquaintances knew. I wanted her to hear it directly from me first, so I didn't want to keep waiting until whenever I saw her in person to break the news. In your situation, I'd probably make a similar calculus, especially since your work involves physical labor you might need accommodations for. Unless you're pretty sure you're going to see your boss soon to tell her in person, I'd probably make the call.

kloe818 · September 2020

Due to IVF cycle, my boss knew pretty much right away. My whole organization is run by women so it's been a really supportive environment. We told HR at about 9 weeks when the OB said I should be home during COVID due to already being high risk and a track record of asthma. Today I called HR to find out about the maternity leave policy (since the bump mentioned it's something to do this week).

annanbby · September 2020

@cmortmain that sounds so similar to my situation. I’m glad a phone called worked out, it looks like that’s going to be the route I’m taking so that’s really encouraging! I definitely wanted to wait until the 2nd trimester, and I’ll be 14 weeks on Tuesday so I think I’m going to be calling on my day off on Monday. Hopefully they’re as supportive as yours was!

@kloe818 ahh how nice to have such a supportive work environment! That’s one I thing I miss about my old job, everyone was very supportive and accommodating about any personal situation someone was going through. My current company isn’t quite that way so I’m just hoping for a positive response. lol

treebagel · September 2020

I’m in a horrible position to tell my manager... I just started my job (as an OR nurse!) this week so it looks awful. but when I accepted the position I was only 10 weeks along and honestly not sure I made it past MC risk. I had 3 MC prior so I didn’t want to assume anything and definitely didn’t want to give up the opportunity. My orientation is 7 months, so I will be giving birth before it ends and i just don’t know what they would about the timing since the orientation is very strict. I’m probably moving anyway in a few months to another state, so I am really just hoping to wear large scrubs until then and just quit when I have to move. But the moving thing is also not set in stone, so I didn’t want to not take this job for something that only might happen. It’s all a mess really haha. But as far as safety, we don’t really do surgery on covid positive patients and everyone gets tested. Standard precautions should make it safe for me to do whatever another nurse does. But I’d try to get out of X-ray and chemo exposure.

mvt2003 · September 2020

I was in an interesting position in that both of my bosses knew that I was TTC thanks to IVF and needing time off for procedures. I did still have to tell them when it worked, which was nerve wracking. One of my bosses wouldn't even let me finish the sentence he started just congratulating me and talking about how excited he is

We're also starting to prep for my maternity coverage, it's convenient for us to know by now that we'll need a temp next year since we're doing 2021 budgets now.

kloe818 · September 2020

@mvt2003 Same boat here. It was nice that everyone knew because when I really needed the grace and understanding during morning sickness, no one questioned me (especially with COVID).

manillabar · September 2020

I told my bosses a few weeks ago, plus my one co-worker who is my friend and new about our loss and fertility journey. I’m thinking I’ll tell my staff in a couple of weeks and let the rest of my colleagues figure it out on their own. I don’t really want to make a huge announcement, but I know we’ll need to start planning for my absence soon enough. Plus I’m thinking of either stopping or going part time for the last few weeks so that gives slightly less time for planning. My bosses seemed excited enough I guess, haha. One of my “superiors” is also my endocrinologist so she knew from the beginning since she’s been managing my thyroid. She was probably the most excited out of everyone 😆

annanbby · September 2020

I told my manager and our staffing coordinator today, and thank goodness they were both excited. They both said that it was great news. Phew. I ended up calling them and it worked it since they were short phone calls. I also had a couple appointments coming up that I hadn't been able to get on my days off since my doctor has limited hours, so I mentioned those and they immediately told me they'd restaff them. So all in all, it went great. Such a relief.

juliebeannn · September 2020

I told my direct boss 2 weeks ago and the rest of our team last week. Things have been really crazy in my group the last few months, we've been losing people left and right, so I wasn't sure how they would take the news of someone needing to go on leave for 3-6 months next year but everyone was outwardly super excited for me. Even our VP was super enthusiastic when he's naturally super stoic and blah lol.

swbecca528 · September 2020

I told my principal on Monday and she was very supportive and excited. We are working remotely right now (I am a social social worker), but the board will be voting soon on if we return to school or not in person so depending on that my principal and I will come up with a plan on what to do come February/March. There is a school in the district that has 2 social workers so one idea is that she would come cover for me while I am out on maternity leave but we will see! I also found out this week there are 2 other teachers in my school that are expecting and due in the late winter/early spring so there will be lots of logistics to figure out.

princessjenney · September 2020

I'm in the military so I had to tell work right away. My direct supervisor was extremely happy for me because she knew we had been trying for a long time. I was worried about how it would affect my position (I'm kind of in a special duty temporarily) but they recently extended me out for a whole year! So that was exciting. They are very by the book about maternity related rules and regulations so it's nice to know what to expect in that aspect. I'm getting a new boss soon, I haven't met her yet but I know she's a mom of 2 littles herself so that makes me feel like she'll probably be understanding about pumping etc. Overall I'm pretty optimistic about being a working mom this time around (I was a SAHM with DD). My husband is going to stay home with the baby, at least until he finishes his master's program.

redselig · September 2020

I haven’t told work yet; waiting until I get my NIPT results back. Tbh, I’m looking forward to maternity leave because pandemic teaching is pretty intense. Masks on all day for staff and students. When you teach children, it’s hard to bond without seeing facial expressions. I rip off that mask once I leave school grounds.

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