When to Announce Pregnancy -Is Miscarriage The Only Concern?


when to announce pregnancy

A pregnancy announcement is one of the most important milestones of your pregnancy. You want to involve all your loved ones in it, but the fear of miscarriage hovers around your mind. It makes you wonder when it is safe to announce your pregnancy.

So, here is when to announce pregnancy: You should at least wait 12 weeks so that the chance of a miscarriage has passed. This time is safe because most miscarriages occur during the first 6 to 8 weeks of gestation. After the 12th week, you are free to break the news to anyone. Of course, you can break the news to your parents at any time, regardless of the maturity of the pregnancy!

Common Pregnancy Milestones to Hit Before Announcing

Pregnancy announcements need to be put on hold before you have actually experienced other important milestones. These are not only more significant but also prepare you to break the big news to your friends and family.

Of course, in the early months of the pregnancy, you need lots of care, support, and attention, but before you jump to an early pregnancy announcement, at least wait till the following milestones occur:

You Hear the Baby’s Heartbeat

During pregnancy, the early weeks are one of the hardest weeks of your life if you are suffering from morning sickness. In addition, you undergo hormonal changes that wreak havoc on your mind and body. But once you hear the heartbeat of your baby for the first time on the ultrasound, you feel like everything has paid off. There is nothing like that feeling.

So, before you announce a pregnancy, make sure you undergo this milestone first. More than the emotional value, it is important because doctors determine if everything is okay with the baby for the first time. The number of babies is also seen, and doctors reveal the baby’s due date. Most importantly, the ultrasound confirms the pregnancy.

All this information is crucial because it shows how a pregnancy is going to progress and what is the risk level if any. Once you find out everything is happy and healthy inside your womb, you can proceed with an announcement.

Anatomy Scan

A 20-week anatomy scan is not your regular ultrasound but a full-body detailed scan of the fetus. It sees everything from the vitals to the baby’s health, the presence of any abnormalities, and of course, the sex of the baby. It also confirms the due date. By this time, you are already showing.

Even if you haven’t officially announced the pregnancy, you can do it along with your baby’s gender reveal party. If you can’t wait twenty weeks to reveal you are pregnant, you can always announce it after the first trimester.

The Appearance of Baby Bump

You may find it hard to tell everyone about your big news so let your baby bump do it. Once you start showing, your baby will be telling everyone the exciting news you have kept a secret. Also, you start showing by the time your first trimester is over, so you don’t have to worry about any miscarriage risks.

But here is the catch: Your baby bump may not appear exactly after your first trimester. In some women, it takes time to make an appearance. So, you can be fully prepared to deal with telling everybody around you.

Risk of Miscarriage

The risk of a miscarriage drops dramatically once your pregnancy has matured beyond 12 weeks or by the time your first trimester is over. In many cultures, miscarriage is considered a serious issue, and pregnancies are often kept secret to avoid the evil eye on the unborn baby.

Research shows that some of these superstitions are not ill-founded. Approximately half the pregnancies worldwide end in miscarriage. Most of these figures are because women are unaware that they are even pregnant, and the pregnancy goes away undetected.

But if you look at the miscarriages from known pregnancies, the stats are quite low. It is even lower than 15%. Most miscarriages occur when the pregnancy is in its early stages, but only if you have genetic disorders. There are other causes like illnesses such as diabetes and hormonal or thyroid problems.

Most of these health problems can be dealt with, but in case you are suffering from chromosomal abnormalities, you need to consult your doctor, as there is not much you can do about it yourself. As for a miscarriage, it can happen later on as well if you have developed ectopic pregnancy or if the fetus dies at any point, even after twenty weeks.

So you don’t have to worry yourself sick. Just eat healthily, take care of yourself, deal with morning sickness as best as you can, and try to stay positive. It is hard as your hormones are already going crazy, but you should meditate and do exercise or yoga to allow yourself to think positively.

Why Share Your Pregnancy News Earlier?

There are plenty of people who find dealing with a pregnancy on their own hard. This is especially the case when you are expecting your first child. At such a time, you need love and support from experienced parents and especially moms who have been through the same and can guide you and hold your hand when you are in a hormonal frenzy.

And who can do it better than your own mom? In such a time, you feel closer to your own mother and need her attention once more. If your parents are involved from the beginning of the pregnancy, you feel less overwhelmed and more properly guided that you are doing great and everything is going to be alright.

Apart from this, you may be so close to some of your friends and family members that you are unable to keep a secret like this from them. Know that if you want to tell anyone and you don’t want to keep secrets for whatever reason, that’s okay too. Pregnancy is very challenging, and you can keep on building your support network as time passes.

How to Break the Pregnancy News?

How to Break the Pregnancy News?

Sharing pregnancy news is exciting, but you can spice it up even more by planning it from start to end. You can always tell your loved ones in person, but you can make it grand by throwing a pregnancy announcement party. Not only will it save you time, as you don’t have to tell everyone individually, but it will be a tremendous and fun celebration.

Of course, you can also do a virtual conference call adding all your friends and family to the meeting and announcing there. Here you will receive fewer hugs, but it would be equally fun to record everyone’s reactions and receive their blessings. Plus, it is affordable too and less overwhelming than planning a party.

Similarly, you can send out an announcement card telling people that you are expecting. If it is a physical card, you can send out something sweet with it too. If you intend to send out an e-card, you have multiple options to customize and be creative with it. That will be lots of fun too!

Other options that you have include social media announcements. In case your friends and family are not very active on social media, you should avoid making this type of announcement. If no idea pleases you, you can always go simple and use the classic telephone method to ring and tell your loved ones about your pregnancy.

The point to note here is who you want to find out. You can’t tell everyone. Immediate family and friends are okay, maybe a few nice colleagues, but unless you are showing, you should keep the baby news within your close family.

Who Should You Tell First?

There is no one more important than your spouse to find out about the pregnancy. You can make it a private surprise or simply break the news with a sonogram. But it is crucial that you tell your partner right away so that he is ready and both of you hop on the pregnancy journey together.

It is also helpful to tell your partner right away because pregnancy symptoms during the first symptoms can be really challenging and overwhelming for pregnant women. If your partner is involved, he can assist you and care for you. This helps in bonding the relationship of the expectant parents further.

Remember, there’s nothing like your partner’s support, and once the pregnancy is confirmed, you need additional attention from your partner to deal with your new situation. So, it is best that you tell him before anyone else.

If you are afraid of a miscarriage, know that there is no reason it will happen to you if you are going to your healthcare provider regularly and taking safety measures. Doctors are more aware of your situation, and if anything harmful or risky is going on, they will definitely tell you first. So you don’t have to be paranoid and keep secrets from your loved ones.

Right Time to Tell the Employer about the Pregnancy?

If you are a working mom, you need to be very clear about when to announce your pregnancy in your office. It shouldn’t be too soon, as you are not too intimate with your coworkers. It shouldn’t be too late that your coworkers and employer do not realize that you are growing a baby and need a slight change of routine.

Ideally, you should break the news to your employer once the baby bumps start to show. The thing is, it is essential for your employer to know about your pregnancy so that not only can they find a replacement when you are on maternity leave but also create a safer work environment for you in case you are not sharing this time with another pregnant colleague.

How to Inform Someone Who is Infertile?

Telling an infertile person that you are pregnant will be difficult and uncomfortable, but there are certain things you can do to make the news less hard on them:

  • Tell them as soon as possible. They might feel worse if they find out about it from a third person.
  • Share the news in private. Telling them that you are pregnant in a public setting can make them uncomfortable and even ashamed.
  • Give them some space to process the information and deal with their emotions. Understand that they may need to stay away from you for some time, maybe even throughout and beyond your pregnancy, and that is okay.
  • Also, understand that whatever their reaction may be, good or bad, they don’t mean to hurt you. Try to put yourself in their shoes, and don’t get offended if they don’t seem thrilled about your pregnancy.
  • Lastly, don’t feel bad or guilty about it. Pregnancy is a blessing, and you should think of it that way too, but keep others’ feelings in mind as well.

It is especially hard on people who have had miscarriages and have experienced pregnancy loss. So be very careful while choosing your words and know their history to deal with them better.

Final Thoughts

Announcing your pregnancy at whichever moment you want is totally up to you, but it is always better to wait out your first trimester until the risk of miscarriage has been fully eliminated. However, the majority of pregnancies are without the risk of miscarriage early on unless a genetic disorder is involved. So don’t let the idea of keeping it a secret go to your head.

You need the support of your family and friends. But more importantly, you require the support of your spouse around you during this overwhelming time. You should calm down and prepare yourself and your husband first. Go through the pregnancy milestones together and enjoy that time. At times, telling people can also prove energy-draining, so until you are ready or showing, you can always keep the pregnancy a secret.

Once you are ready, you can try interesting ideas for a pregnancy announcement party and let all your loved ones be a part of this amazing new journey that you are boarded on!

Stephanie Edenburgh

I'm Steph, a mom to 3 beautiful children and lover all things having to do with my family and being a mom. I've learned a lot raising my own children and working in education and healthcare roles throughout my career. Living in beautiful Southern California I enjoy documenting and writing about all of the hard work us mom's do on a daily basis.

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