There's no right or wrong time to tell people you're pregnant. It's up to you to decide what's best for you and, if you have a partner, you may want to decide together. Some people choose to wait until after they've had the first ultrasound scan. It's your baby, so it's up to you.
You might want to tell your partner and/or family that you're pregnant early so they can support you through those early symptoms. However, some like to wait until the risk of miscarriage is low (after the first trimester) before revealing the news, so five weeks might be too early.
While many women know they are pregnant as early as a week after a missed period, social norms dictate pregnancy announcements should wait until after the all-important 12-week mark. The early weeks of pregnancy are often filled with roller coaster style emotions, hormones and pregnancy symptoms.
Although your body begins to produce hCG 7 to 10 days after fertilization, waiting provides the most accurate results. In order to give your body enough time for hCG to build up to a detectable level in your urine by a pregnancy test, it is best to take a pregnancy test about 14 days after fertilization.
Pregnant women are often advised to wait until they pass the 12-week mark, when the risk of miscarriage drops sharply, to announce their pregnancies to the world.
Many women choose to delay announcing a pregnancy at least until the end of the first trimester (12 weeks into their pregnancy). This is usually because of concerns about the risk of miscarriage (pregnancy loss) during this time.
Your Pregnant Belly at 2 Weeks
In fact, you won't be able to find out for sure if you're pregnant until there's enough pregnancy hormone in your system for a home pregnancy test to detect. That should happen at about week 4, which is the same time you'll probably miss your period.
Your nausea and vomiting may be worse than ever: Morning sickness peaks around 9 or 10 weeks of pregnancy for many women. That's when levels of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are highest (morning sickness is thought to be linked to rises in hCG and estrogen).
Most miscarriages - 8 out of 10 (80 percent) - happen in the first trimester before the 12th week of pregnancy. Miscarriage in the second trimester (between 13 and 19 weeks) happens in 1 to 5 in 100 (1 to 5 percent) pregnancies. Pregnancy loss that happens after 20 weeks is called stillbirth.
These early weeks can feel overwhelming; you might feel both excited and terrified. "Pregnancy is a huge milestone, and it's OK to be in your feelings about it," says Belen.
When should I tell my manager that I'm pregnant? One concrete recommendation is to notify your employer at the end of the first trimester (12-13 weeks). Around this time, some women begin to show, and the risk of miscarriage is lower.
Pregnancy Tests
It's too early to take a home pregnancy test in week 3. But, by the middle or later part of next week, you might be able to detect the pregnancy hormone hCG in your urine with a sensitive early test.
In a twin pregnancy, there are elevated levels of hCG, making it possible to have a very early positive result. However, home pregnancy tests won't confirm if twins are present, only the presence of hCG. It takes around 2 weeks after conception for hCG to be detected in a hCG pregnancy test.
3 weeks is usually too early to take a test if you want the most accurate result. Some women, however, will get a positive result by the end of this week. Although you might be desperate to find out, if you think you could be pregnant it's best to wait until next week.
Week 4 of pregnancy
For example, a fertilised egg may have implanted in your womb just 2 weeks ago, but if the first day of your last period was 4 weeks ago, this means you're officially four weeks pregnant! Pregnancy normally lasts from 37 weeks to 42 weeks from the first day of your last period.
Communicating with your line manager
By law, you don't need to tell your employer you're pregnant until the end of the 15th week before your due date (when you're 25 weeks pregnant). But it's best to tell them as soon as possible, especially if you have physical symptoms like sickness and need their support.
If you get a positive pregnancy test result, call your healthcare provider. They'll likely schedule an appointment eight weeks in where they'll confirm the pregnancy and its location via ultrasound, as well as run other important tests and screenings.
“Don't introduce anyone to your parents unless it's a serious, committed relationship,” therapist and relationship expert Rachel Sussman tells Moneyish. “Usually, that's after at least four or five months.”
There's no right or wrong time to tell people you're pregnant. It's up to you to decide what's best for you and, if you have a partner, you may want to decide together. Some people choose to wait until after they've had the first ultrasound scan. It's your baby, so it's up to you.
Babies born from 38 to 42 weeks are considered “full-term.” Babies born 3 to 6 weeks early (34 to 37 weeks) are called “near-term” or “late preterm.” All infants born before 37 weeks are called “premature.” These babies may face different and more serious health problems than most full-term infants.