So I had an interview for a job as a dentist's receptionist at a small private practice. The woman who interviewed me told the previous incumbent had gone on maternity leave and decided not to come back after that, and was obvious somewhat put out by that fact. At the end of the interview she said to me, apparently quite seriously, "You're not planning to have more children, are you?". She then put her hand over her mouth and said, "Oops, I'm not supposed to ask things like that, am I?", and changed the subject. I was shocked and won't be taking the job if I'm offered it (major alarm bells going off in my head). Is this kind of thing common in the private sector? (I've always worked, and so been interviewed in, the public sector). Just thought I'd share my story, and double check that it is 2012 not the 1950s!