How long before sharing news of pregnancy?

[nicazz]

I've told my parents and a few really close people, but I'm waiting until I have my first trimester screen at 12 weeks. Not so much in case I have a miscarriage, but moreso in case we find out the baby might have Down's or another chromosomal abnormality and we have difficult decisions to make. I'd prefer not too involve too many people in that decision.

[zaelia]

Initially we had decided to wait to tell anyone other than our immediate family when we found out at 5 weeks, but after some discussion we ended up sharing it with a few close friends who we would turn to for support anyway if something were to go wrong. For everyone else, we waited until about 13 weeks.

[lucykate219]

We told my parents, his parents and our brothers and sisters and 12 weeks, and everyone else at 16 weeks. I was really nervous of miscarrying, so I kept quiet as long as I could.

[katybug]

I'm only 11 weeks along now so I haven't told many people. We told our parents and siblings at 8 weeks (it was earlier than I thought I'd feel comfortable talking about it but ultimately it felt right) and I've told a few friends in the past week. I don't think we'll tell anyone else (and certainly not on social networking sites or at work) until after my next ob/gyn visit at 14 weeks. I agree that there's no "right" time to tell, only the right time for you.

[hayley88]

I think I would try to keep it quiet for as long as possible (with the exception of very close family),just because the early part of the second trimester seems a bit dicey too

[laurenb]

close family and friends were pretty immediate, everyone else - i was about 14 weeks, second trimester.

[sillysheila]

I think it is safer to wait until after the first trimester, unless you need to tell someone. And by need, I don't mean that you are just too excited, but if you start having complications. When I was pregnant with DD, I had a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum which made me extremely sick, so when we got pregnant in February, we told our mothers right away (in case I got too sick to care for our daughter). However, the day we decided to tell our dads, we miscarried. I was very glad that we told our parents because they have been very supportive. I was also very glad that no one else knew so we didn't have to take it back. As a very open person (with a blog) I ended up talking about it, as a way to heal, but at least I got to tell people on my own terms.

In no way am I trying to scare anyone, but miscarriages are common (I think it is actually one in four). Hopefully, you will never have to go through that. But I found that my grief was easier to manage because only my closest relatives knew and could support me, and that I would not have to talk about it to everyone else while it was still raw.

[lucky lindy]

We told our families at 6 weeks, maybe 8... and the world (Facebook) at 12 weeks.

[sweet1792]

Honestly, I had the hardest time keeping quiet. I made my boyfriend not tell my grandma (they work with each other), but then I turned around and immediately told my boss the day after I took the home test. I was so excited. But, I didn't tell my mom and grandma until about a week after I took the home test. I was nervous to tell them, but my mom was excited (her reaction was priceless... "About darn *except using the cuss word* time!"), and my grandma wasn't as excited (we told her she was going to be a greatgrandma, and she asked if it was me or my sister, who is 18). His parents found out the day before my mom found out, and they were unhappy seeing as their son and I are not married. But I was just so excited I had to tell everyone! Now it's an ask and I'll tell you kind of thing. If you don't ask, then I won't tell you I'm pregnant. I don't want to be pushy about it, I've already told everyone I was excited to tell (except my boss, I just needed someone to tell at that point, haha).

[march]

With my first pregnancy:
My Mum straight away (about 6 weeks).
DH's parents at 10 weeks
Our siblings and my boss at 12 weeks
Everyone else at 16 weeks
Facebook at about 32 weeks

This time
Mum straight away (4 weeks)
Dh's parents at 8/9 weeks
Siblings at 11 weeks
Everyone else whenever I saw them from 12 weeks on
Still have not put it on Facebook ( currently 20 weeks)

My first pregnancy surprised people, so we were able to keep it quiet much longer. This time people expected me to be UTD so I got asked frequently about pregnancy. Also, started showing much sooner.