After you receive the positive result of your pregnancy test and after doing the baby check test at home or after getting the blood test result, probably the first thing you think of is the right time to announce your pregnancy to your family, friends, and acquaintances. But really, when should you announce pregnancy to your dear ones? Is it really necessary to wait until after the first trimester and after the screening test to announce the pregnancy or not? In this article, we will explain everything about announcing pregnancy.
When should you announce pregnancy?
After you become aware of your pregnancy, many feelings and emotions may arise in your body and mind. Experiencing nervousness, excitement, surprise, fear, happiness, and many other emotions is common.
After the pregnancy test is positive, you will reach a stage where you will be ready to announce your pregnancy to others and ask yourself when you want to announce the pregnancy. You may feel excited or anxious. Both of these feelings are normal and often surprising to others. But before answering that question, you must determine who is going to become aware of your pregnancy.
Whom Should you Tell that you are Pregnant?
Most likely, the second person who should be informed of your pregnancy is your spouse or partner. There are creative ways to announce pregnancy as one of life's memorable moments. It's fun to find an unexpected way to break the news.
These decisions are easy. The next group that should be informed of the situation is your family members or close friends. From this group, you usually go to friends and acquaintances and then to anyone who listens.
Although there is usually a normal system for announcing the pregnancy in most families, you may think whether it is necessary to wait a little for this or not. It's very natural to tell strangers before you're ready to break the exciting news to your family. This is a way to share the news in a less risky situation and with fewer comments.
When is Safe to Announce Pregnancy?
When to tell others the news is a hot topic. Timing to announce pregnancy is a completely personal decision. Some families are quick to spread the good news and tell it to every idle ear they can find.
Before the ink on the pregnancy test dries, they are on the phone to tell their friends and relatives the news. However, there are also some people who conceal the news till the fetus is say 20 weeks old or more.
Advantages of announcing pregnancy early
- You will have a lot of support in early pregnancy.
- You can express your good news and excitement.
- You get lots of offers to help.
- You will get many recommendations from people around you about the right doctor.
- You will have help in the initial decisions.
- In the case of abortion, you will be supported by the people around you.
Disadvantages of announcing pregnancy early
- You get a lot of (maybe annoying) advice.
- The good news will soon reach others, and you will not be the first to tell them about your pregnancy.
- If you miscarry, everyone will know you were pregnant.
Another way is to not tell anyone about your pregnancy or choose to announce it to a limited number of people like some people do. This group of people believes that they should reach a certain level of pregnancy and then give the news. In this case, people may wait until their bellies get bigger and others themselves find out about their pregnancy. This may be due to religious or personal beliefs or fear of pregnancy loss.
Advantages of announcing pregnancy later
- Sufficient time to digest the news.
- You can make decisions without the interference of others.
- If you abort the fetus, you do not have to cancel the pregnancy notification.
Disadvantages of announcing pregnancy later
- You don’t have any help and support from others.
- If you abort the fetus, the people around you will ask the reason for your discomfort, and you will owe them an explanation.
How to Announce Pregnancy?
After performing the tests during the first three months (12 weeks) of pregnancy and ensuring the health of the fetus, it is time to reveal your pregnancy.
However, it is a good idea to do this with a little creativity. Thee are many creative pregnancy announcement ideas on social media like bun in the oven, movie poster, etc.
For example, by holding a small party by ordering a special cake, you can even surprise your spouse. Or when he comes home from work, make an excuse and flip through your photo album together. The last page should be the place to put the results of the test or the photo of the first ultrasound.
You can also buy a baby item like a pair of baby shoes and put it in a gift box and write on a letter board: "My shoes came first. I will come myself in 9 months, daddy!" This is also a good opportunity to have a photo shoot in order to take some pregnancy announcement photos.
When to Announce Pregnancy to the First Child?
To give this news to your other child(ren), you should consider the age and conditions of your child(ren). If she/he is at an age where she/he understands the days, weeks, and time required for the birth of a baby, and she/he is in a good mental condition, it is better to discuss the issue with her/him in the very first days of knowing about your pregnancy.
Most children do not notice the time. It is very difficult for them to be patient for nine months. Therefore, if you inform her/him in the first months, you will face a lot of questions, grumpiness, and worry.
This is something you certainly don't need in the midst of worrying about tests and medical appointments. So, it is better to wait until you gain some weight, and your belly is clearly enlarged. At this time, you can inform your child about the presence of another baby in your belly.
Do not forget that it is necessary for parents to be the first ones to discuss this issue with the child(ren). Hearing this news from aunts, uncles, grandmothers, or anyone else makes her/him face a crisis of mistrust and fear. Therefore, if you think that someone will discuss this issue with your child(ren) before you, talk to them yourself first, tell her/him that it will take a long time for the baby to be born and that mommy's belly must be very, very big.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is no single, correct answer to this question. If you decide to announce the news of pregnancy early, if you lose the child, you will benefit from the support and help of those around you in your grief. Or you may want to wait until the risk of miscarriage is gone and then announce the pregnancy to those around you.
There is no right answer to this. The best thing is the one that suits you and your family. You may decide to announce your pregnancy only to a few close people for now until some time has passed since the pregnancy to see how it goes. Then decide to tell the news to others or wait a bit more.