Marjorie Greenfield—

When we were doing the interviews for The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Booklots of moms told us stories and gave advice on the subject of telling work that you are going to have a baby. Today I am going to write on the decision about when to tell work. In a future post I’ll write about how different moms did it, and how it worked out for them. But first, when to take on the task.

Here are factors that moms said played a role in chosing early disclosure at work:

• Not wanting to hide something from their boss and coworkers/friends at work
• Having obvious evidence that they were pregnant, like vomiting every day, or bursting out of their clothes
• Requiring accommodations at work early in the pregnancy, because of symptoms or complications
• Needing to plan well in advance for maternity leave
• Bursting with excitement and not being able to wait to share the news
• Not wanting the boss to hear about the pregnancy indirectly

But here are the factors that led moms to try to hide the pregnancy for as long as they could:

• Worrying that they would not be treated the same once the pregnancy was public–in promotions, job assignments, or just socially in the workplace
• Wanting privacy–hoping to get through the first trimester risk of miscarriage or past any genetic testing (with possible termination of the pregnancy) before sharing the news
• Fearing what the reaction might be

So how do you figure out when to tell? Obviously it is a personal decision based on your own work environment, relationships,  personal beliefs, and pregnancy experience. While some moms that we interviewed said they were relieved to share the news and that they got support once they disclosed their “condition”, others did feel that it affected how they were treated and the assignments that they got. My best advice is to look at how pregnancy has gone for other women in your workplace, and combine that with how your pregnancy is going and what feels right to you. And don’t stress over this too much–because they are clearly going to find out at some time–it is just a decision about when!

Marjorie Greenfield, M.D., is a practicing, board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and associate professor of reproductive biology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Greenfield has written hundreds of articles for the Web and currently blogs about pregnancy for Yahoo.com.

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