Telling my boss I am expecting

[SunshineMum18]

I am expecting in February, and am so nervous about telling my employer, it's causing me massive anxiety. I have very recently in the last few weeks started to show and everyday going in trying to hide my bump is getting mire and more difficult! My boss is very direct and I am worried that my job will be less secure once he finds out. I appreciate workplaces cannot discriminate against you just for being pregnant, but I can't help feel that it's going to put me in a difficult place. I love my job and am very successful at what I do, so I would say I am quite highly regarded by my peers. If anyone has any advice or experiences in this perso ally, I would love to hear from you!

This could have been me writing this a couple of years ago!

I was in exactly the same position, also the first one at my workplace to go on maternity leave, and a lot of my colleagues are quite young so I was worried also about feeling like a leper and being left out of projects.

Actually, when I told them it was absolutely fine, and I shouldn’t have gotten myself so worked up. I felt quite guilty about being on mat leave so I only took 7 months, but in hindsight I shouldn’t have worried and just took as long as I needed/could afford.

Maternity leave goes by in flash, work seemed like everything to me before and a huge part of my identity... but not so much now.

You will probably still worry (I did, despite everyone telling me not to), but if your employers are shitty about it, then it’s better to know their true colours and make a plan to move on when you can. You sound like a real asset to your workplace though so I’m sure they will be happy for you and support you so they can have you back! ☺️

I didn’t tell my employer until around 4/5 months, there is no rush. You can try and wear baggy clothes where it doesn’t show as much. Yes, they shouldn’t discriminate against you, but it does happen.