How to Tell Your Boss You're Pregnant

Some women wait until after their first semester before telling their bosses that they are pregnant. This is usually the time when they are fairly confident of keeping the pregnancy. However, you obviously do not want to wait until you are showing before you let other people know that you are pregnant. Not only is this unhealthy for you and your work relationships, it is also very unprofessional. Telling your boss of this situation is something you cannot escape, so it's best that you get it out early, instead of having him or her discover from someone else. Here are a few hints on how you can tell your boss that you are pregnant.

1) Ask for advice.

Before you decide to tell your boss and co-workers about your pregnancy, it would be a better idea for you to talk to close friends first. Make sure that they can keep your pregnancy a secret until the time that you are ready to go completely public with it. It would greatly help if you would also talk to other women in your office who have gotten pregnant. Ask for their advice on how to handle your pregnancy. Also ask about how their pregnancy was received by the office, and how supportive was the company with regards to their pregnancy.

2) Know your rights.

If your company has a human resources representative (which it should!), ask them about your employer's formal policies regarding pregnancy, as well as your employer's health plans and parental leave policy including paid and unpaid leaves that you are eligible for. There may be some leave without pay that still includes benefits. You want to be given an informed and objective advice so you can assess how you are to go about with your pregnancy in the workplace.

3) Anticipate the questions and concerns.