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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

How did you tell your colleagues that you're pregnant?

77 replies

TileTileTile · 03/03/2017 10:03

Hi, I've told my boss and his boss already, but not sure how I tell the rest of the team. I feel a bit weird sending an email out, but I also feel a bit weird going round telling people one by one to their faces. Lol. I'm just a bit shy with these things and hate to make a fuss!

How did you do it and did it work out well? Thanks!

OP posts:
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Oysterbabe · 04/03/2017 19:03

I just told one quite gossipy person then let it spread. It took less than a day.

ElornaElephant · 04/03/2017 20:48

With my DS I did the standard tell my boss thing and let the others figure it out for themselves.

A colleague I know at the moment is pregnant and she told us all via email whilst disclosing details about maternity cover for another colleague! It was literally "and I am also having a baby."

RandomDent · 04/03/2017 20:51

Congratulations. :)
I also told the office gossip. I am sure that there are plenty of men who are gossips there, just pick one and see what happens. :o

Gwenhwyfar · 04/03/2017 21:38

I'd suggest telling a couple of gossipers and telling them it's not a secret. The whole office will know soon enough. An email is too formal.

What you don't do it tell your colleague you 'need to have a word with them'.I was shi**ing myself thinking what I could have done wrong.

Gwenhwyfar · 04/03/2017 21:42

"With my DS I did the standard tell my boss thing and let the others figure it out for themselves."

Problem with that is that some people don't show until very advanced so you have colleagues walking on eggshells not knowing whether they can mention why you've suddenly got a massive abdomen and also certain things like have to be done differently e.g. not asking you to carry heavy things.

TheBruteSquad · 04/03/2017 21:45

I was exactly the same - I hate the thought of people making a fuss of me.

I told my boss. At my work common-practice was for him to tell the head of the department (with my agreement of course) and for her to mention it, by way of congratulations (again with prior agreement) at the end of a weekly team meeting. Except my boss is weird (for many reasons!) and didn't tell the head of department. So that happened for everyone else in the team who had a baby, but not me, making it look like I didn't want people to know.

In the end, I pretended I thought they already knew and dropped it causally into conversation. So along the lines of "oh I won't be around for phase 2 of this project as my Maternity Leave starts in September". Most people then just replied "oh I didn't know. Congratulations. So for phase one are we doing XYZ?" And thus the fuss was avoided!

haveacupoftea · 04/03/2017 21:53

I think they knew, one of them asked me 'have you any plans to have children?' And i said wellll theres something i should tell you, and that was that!

DarkDarkNight · 04/03/2017 22:17

I worked with my partner and one of my colleagues found out when somebody congratulated my partner in front her. He came to me and said we might as well tell people as word was gong to get around anyway. I made it to 14 weeks, I was planning on waiting a few more weeks as I hate being the centre of attention so didn't want to announce it.

Cocopopsrule · 04/03/2017 22:18

Coming to end of month 5 I sent an email out with my handover plan. As in, I will be out from this date - here's my transition notes.

Masketti · 05/03/2017 00:27

I got signed off sick since 8 weeks then turned up at 24 weeks pregnant. Didn't really need to say anything Grin

But I would have told my friends then just let it spread round the office from them.

Babykoala1 · 05/03/2017 00:31

I just told the girl with the biggest gob, word soon got around..

Masketti · 05/03/2017 00:31

I've just remembered the first time I told my team members in a team meeting AOB kind of thing.

I went to a long meeting with senior senior people and everyone had a break halfway through for drinks/toilet etc. When I got back they'd taken bets at how many weeks! I thought they'd have known through my boss. It was 26 ish weeks I think Wink

TileTileTile · 05/03/2017 07:43

Lol, so many of you seem to have office gossips Grin

If someone learned about someone being pregnant via someone else in my work, they wouldn't say anything to your face or ask about it as that would be deemed rude. Lol, manners can be so annoying!

OP posts:
Soon2bmummyto2 · 05/03/2017 08:20

I work for the family company so after announcing to my parents and having first scan they told the management team and I wentcround and announced to everyone else ....anyone not in that day soon found out the next day lol

spinassienne · 05/03/2017 08:27

Last time round I did all the paperwork etc. with the secretary but for some reason it didn't get passed on to the line manager, who works on a different site. So when she found out when I bumped into her at 8+ months and she did a massive double take and went "HellooooaaaRRRRGGHHH!!!!" Twas hilarious Grin

boobah23 · 05/03/2017 10:05

When I told my immediate boss she said that she'd guessed already, as I was acting happier! I told a few other people and the word kind of got round.

sherbetpips · 05/03/2017 10:32

Not a fan of the email idea - your boss needs to know but everyone else will just find out eventually depends how close you are to everyone in the office?

I got rushed to hospital because my boss found me in the loo bleeding - all worked out in the end and have a lovely teenager now!

Crumbs1 · 05/03/2017 10:34

A giant baby balloon stuck to your chair and keep singing nursery rhymes very loudly?

chipsandpeas · 05/03/2017 10:44

usually in my work women comes in with scan photo shows it to the team then word gets about

NameChange30 · 05/03/2017 10:47

I really don't understand why an email is bad but sharing scan photos is good Hmm
With all due respect I don't care about other people's scan photos (unless it's a close family member or friend) and I wouldn't expect colleagues to care about mine.
My boss loves babies and was very excited for me, she asked to see my scan photo so I showed it to her, but I would never show it to colleagues who didn't ask.

user1481795553 · 05/03/2017 10:56

My team were talking about wetting another members baby head in the summer, when she would be up to joining us. They asked if I would be going and I told them id be on leave then. They said ok and went back to taking calls, around 10 mins later one of them looked up to ask me if I was pregnant. Rather funny irl. The whole department congratulated me that day and my partner the next day.

Gwenhwyfar · 05/03/2017 11:05

"If someone learned about someone being pregnant via someone else in my work, they wouldn't say anything to your face or ask about it as that would be deemed rude. Lol, manners can be so annoying!"

I'm not sure that's to do with manners. The polite thing to do is to congratulate the pregnant woman. That's how it's worked in every office I've been to. Colleagues come up and say congratulations or hug and everyone else hears it and the word is out.

NameChange30 · 05/03/2017 11:08

In general I would expect someone to announce their own news and I would wait for them to tell me before congratulating them. I would feel awkward about bringing it up if they haven't. In a way I think sharing news about someone else is sort of stealing their thunder - although I know that people never intend that, they are usually sharing the news because they're excited and happy for the person or maybe just a gossip.

NameChange30 · 05/03/2017 11:10

Having said that I do think it makes sense for a boss or line manager to announce on an employee's behalf - for example at the end of a meeting or in an email, just a brief comment to say "I'd like to congratulate x on her pregnancy and to let the team know that she will be going on maternity leave in x" (with the employee's prior permission to announce it of course).

Itsjustaphase2016 · 05/03/2017 11:18

Why don't you just send the email saying "hey everyone, just to let everyone know that I will be leaving in the middle of xxx project as I'll be taking maternity leave. Cake in the kitchen to celebrate impending arrival...
This is to-the-point and focuses on the work aspect of it rather than being too personally about you (which risks looking a bit weird, or insensitive or irrelevant)

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