Announcing Your Pregnancy: When to Tell Your Partner, Family and Work

The test is positive and you are bursting to share the news. Should you call your mother right away, wait for the first scan, tell your boss before they notice your appointments? Announcing your pregnancy is a joyful moment, but it also comes with a string of small decisions: who to tell, when, and how.

There is no rule, only good reasons to pick one moment over another. Here is what you need to decide together, with a few announcement ideas and the essentials on your rights at work in Morocco.

When should you announce your pregnancy?

Many couples wait until the end of the first trimester, around 12 weeks, often after the first scan. The reason is simple: this is when the risk of miscarriage is highest. According to NHS Wales, around one in eight known pregnancies ends in miscarriage, and three in four of those miscarriages happen in the first trimester. Quebec's guide Mieux vivre avec notre enfant puts it closer to one pregnancy in six, most of them within the first 12 weeks. Figures vary between studies, but the trend is the same.

Waiting is not an obligation, though. Telling a few trusted people early has its advantages too:

• getting help if nausea and tiredness knock you flat;
• not carrying possible bad news on your own;
• explaining your absences for medical appointments;
• protecting your health if your job involves risks.

In some families, the news is also kept quiet out of modesty, or for fear of the evil eye (l'3in). It is your choice, and you don't have to justify it.

Telling your partner

Some women take the test together, others see the result alone and look for a way to share the moment. A few simple ideas:

• a small box holding the test, or a newborn bodysuit, to open when he gets home from work;
• a pair of baby booties placed on his shoes by the front door;
• a note slipped next to his morning coffee, or “Good morning, Dad” written on a little card;
• the picture from the first scan, if you would rather wait for that appointment and live it together.

No need for an elaborate production: most fathers mainly remember the look on your face and the words. A little bodysuit or a keepsake does the job beautifully.

Parents, in-laws, siblings: who to tell, and in what order?

In Morocco, the extended family often plays a big role, and the order of the announcement can become a delicate matter. To avoid hurt feelings:

• tell both families on the same day, or close to it, so that no grandmother hears the news from the other one;
• pick a moment when everyone is together: a Friday lunch, a ftour (the meal that breaks the fast) during Ramadan, a video call for those who live far away;
• ask explicitly for discretion if you don't want the news to spread yet;
• prepare your answers to the questions that will come: due date, sex, names… you don't have to reveal anything.

For a future big brother or sister, it is better to wait until the pregnancy is well established, and to talk in concrete terms (“when it gets hot”, “after your birthday”) rather than in months. Our article on preparing your older child for the new baby offers ideas for each age.

From the shop

For an announcement to remember

A little bodysuit tucked into a box, a newborn hat, a frame that will later hold baby's prints: simple ideas to share the news, from small budgets to proper gifts.

• −74 %BabiduLong-sleeved bamboo baby bodysuit, white – Babidu34 DHinstead of 130 DHView product
• −74 %BabiduWrap-over baby bodysuit, 6 months, white – Babidu34 DHinstead of 130 DHView product
• −69 %BonjourBébé PremiumNewborn hat, 100% cotton, Grey Star – BonjourBébé Premium31 DHinstead of 100 DHView product
• −9 %Tiny LoveTiny Creations Magic Box baby print kit, square metal box – Tiny Love146 DHinstead of 160 DHView product
• −9 %Tiny LoveTiny Creations Simple Frame baby print frame, wood – Tiny Love209 DHinstead of 230 DHView product
• −9 %Tiny LoveTiny Creations wooden double photo and print frame – Tiny Love291 DHinstead of 320 DHView product
• The whole aisle · Baby keepsakes6 products online, delivered anywhere in Morocco.Open the aisle

Products sold by La Maison du Bébé, publisher of this magazine. Prices as of 12 October 2026; please check the product page.

Announcing your pregnancy at work: your rights in Morocco

Moroccan law sets no deadline for informing your employer. In practice, many women wait until the end of the first trimester, unless their job exposes them to risks or their absences start to be noticed.

What the Labour Code says for the private sector:

• Protection against dismissal: article 159 forbids dismissing a pregnant employee, and article 160 makes void any dismissal issued while she was pregnant, except in cases provided for by law.
• Maternity leave: 14 weeks, in principle 7 before and 7 after the birth (article 152). The conditions for CNSS (social security) payments are explained in our article on maternity leave in Morocco.
• After the birth: a paid breastfeeding break of one hour a day for 12 months after returning to work (article 161).

To secure your rights, inform your employer in writing with a medical certificate of pregnancy, and keep a copy.

If your work involves risks, talk to your doctor from the start, without waiting for the official announcement. The Mayo Clinic lists exposure to toxic substances or radiation, standing for long periods, lifting heavy loads, ladders, loud noise, extreme temperatures and night work. In the United Kingdom, the announcement triggers a risk assessment of the job by the employer; in Morocco, nothing stops you from asking for one, backed by your doctor's opinion.

The first weeks at the office, before the announcement

Keeping the secret at work is not always easy once nausea gets involved. A few tips from the Mayo Clinic: keep plain crackers within reach, avoid the smells that trigger the queasiness, take short regular breaks and drink throughout the day. If you sit for long stretches, get up roughly every two hours. And if you need time off for a scan, a “medical appointment” is explanation enough: you don't have to say more.

To find your way through the first-trimester appointments, see our article on pregnancy ultrasound scans. And if you haven't taken a test yet, start with our pregnancy test guide.