The confirmation of a pregnancy generally brings joy to the hearts of the parents to be. If the expectant mother is working, she will need to break the news at her office, as her pregnancy and maternity leave will affect the work schedules in the office.
The thought of having to face colleagues and your boss with the news may or may not be appealing, depending on the work environment in your office. Before you decide to tell, there are a few things you need to sort out first.
Talk to your HR person about the various maternal benefits that can be availed, the duration of paid maternity leave and other health benefits.
You will also need to talk with your partner about how things will work out once the baby arrives. How much unpaid leave can you afford to take? Do you have to go back to work or should you take a break for sometime?
Consult your practitioner who may be able to advise you on how long you may need to stay home.
Armed with this information, look at the work environment of your office. If there have been previous incidents of pregnancy how were they received? If the reactions had been positive, you can break the news as soon as you are ready.
Some women prefer to do so after the first trimester and some may do so earlier if they are sure about the support they will receive.
If there have been negative reactions earlier, it would be wiser to keep it under wraps as long as possible. It would be better to declare it with a milestone like a completed project, to let people know you have been working efficiently despite the pregnancy.
It is always better to break the news first to your boss. You may then want to inform your colleagues, but do so within a short time frame to avoid unnecessary gossip.
If you handle clients, you will need to inform them too, and as you do it makes sense to introduce them to the person who will be working with them in your absence.
