Telling Family and Friends About Your Over 40 Pregnancy

Congratulations you’re expecting a baby! You waited, prayed and are excited about your first baby. Whether you decide to tell the world or just secretly bask for a while in the wonder of future motherhood, here are a few pointers to prepare you in telling your big news.

First, decide whether you will have additional prenatal testing performed other than the routine. Routine prenatal tests are blood, urine and blood pressure checks. These tests are performed regularly on all pregnant women.

As an expectant mother over 35 your physician will give you the option of receiving prenatal tests to diagnose or screen for genetic or chromosomal birth defects such as Down syndrome. Amniocentesis and Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) are two of the most common tests.

While no prenatal test is 100 percent accurate, you may be an expectant mom who feels safe announcing her pregnancy after she receives a normal result from one of these tests. Or if the results are not as you hoped, you may be an expectant mom who wants to prepare her family and friends for the arrival of special needs baby. Or you may be an expectant mom who decides against any testing other than the routine. Regardless of where you stand on additional prenatal testing, you will have to make a decision.

Perhaps, prenatal testing is no big deal for you, but you want to wait until the end of first trimester to announce your pregnancy to family and friends. Since medical experts say that the majority of miscarriages occur before 12 weeks, many expectant moms wait before telling others. Unfortunately, the common symptoms of early pregnancy such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness and frequent urination may not allow you to keep your secret as long as you would like.

After sharing the good news of your pregnancy with your partner, many women tell a close relative or friend. As an over-40 mom to be, the reactions you receive may range from joy to amazement to disappointment.