Should i tell my boss I'm pregnant early due to Covid

[laycex]

I have just found out I'm pregant and i would like to wait till 12 weeks however due to covid I'm wondering if should tell my boss so we can change my working arrangements. I currently work in an office.

I'm curious to know if other's have told their work early than they expected?

I wouldn't unless it is very very likely things will change re. WFH. Are your vulnerable workers at home?

Yes the vulnerable workers are at home and my colleague who fell pregnant early this year has WFH her entire pregnancy.

The office is classed as "covid secure workplace" and their are not many people in.

I told my line manager at 6 weeks because I had a bleed. There's no way I would be have been able to keep the 3x 1-2 hour appointments I've needed before 12 weeks private without raising suspicion. If telling will make work life easier then I would go for it, they don't need to tell anyone else at this stage, you're not announcing it to your colleagues.

I told my boss at 4 weeks(!) in June, because the baby is too important. If anything had gone wrong, I would have wanted time off too, so his support would have been invaluable. Thankfully baby all okay and we've has regular risk assessments

I don't think telling your boss should be seen as a negative. First is that you probably do need to WFH to protect the pregnancy. Second is you are protected under pregnancy and maternity rights from the moment you inform your employer. Third is if something did go wrong. Your employer can support you, understand time off etc.

Pregnancy is not a bad thing to be hidden, not matter what the outcomes are, they have a duty to support you.

Is there a reason you have to hide it? If not I would just tell your manager but ask that noone else is told until you are ready to tell them. I really wouldn't worry about it unless your manager isn't very nice.

Congratulations!

If you want pregnancy-related adaptions, then yes you have to declare the pregnancy

And competent manager should be able to keep personal information confidential. But of course people will notice that your working patterns have changed, so they'll almost certainly draw the correct conclusions

Yeah i was leaning more towards telling work but just hesitant as it's my first baby and not sure on the right thing to do.

It makes sense that they already know incase something did go wrong so i can get the support i need.

Thank you x

I told my boss at 4 weeks at the start of the initial lock down as their policy was for pregnant women to work at home. I think at the min it's the right thing to do so you can get the support you need xx

I told my bosses both times at around 6 weeks because I was feeling so rotten. Really dizzy a lot of the time and if anything happened I wanted them to know what was going on.