Wondering when—and how—to announce your pregnancy at work? Some moms-to-be prefer to wait until after they’ve made it through the first trimester—the peak risk period for miscarriage—before sharing their news with their employer and their coworkers.
Others choose to go public with their news sooner rather than later\ because they want their coworkers to hear their happy news right away (even while the miscarriage risk still looms); or because they need to ask for job modifications in order to avoid exposing their baby to potentially harmful substances such as radiation, chemicals, and toxins on the job, in which case they have no choice but to spill the beans right away.
Sometimes the timing of a pregnancy announcement comes down to strategy. While pregnancy discrimination is illegal in Canada, some moms-in-waiting choose to hold off on announcing their pregnancies if they know that they’re due for a promotion or a major salary review, just in case their baby news might be used against them by a less-than-scrupulous employer.
While pregnancy discrimination legislation protects workers against unfair treatment during "pregnancy, the possibility of pregnancy, or circumstances related to pregnancy," the onus is on the worker to demonstrate discrimination. And trying to prove that you were due that big raise until your employer got wind of your big news can be easier said than done.
