Dear Cindy ............. I'm Pregnant!

Dear Cindy,

I'm starting a new job for a national education group where I will spearhead an international teacher program. Some travel will be involved as I need to evaluate the teachers who are applying from abroad. But with all of the airline restrictions, I’m hoping to do most of this online for now.

However, I also just found out I am pregnant.

I am not really sure how to approach the conversation with my new employer, and given that travel is part of the job, and I'm particularly unsure how this all works with a baby.

From Lost and Unsure

Dear Lost and Unsure,

Firstly Congratulations!

Take your time to get organized! This moment is about you and your family. You are not obligated or expected to dive into a conversation about your pregnancy with your new employer just yet.

Giving the details and nuances around this job there’s a lot of unknowns. First, the pandemic is curtailing most travel, and given that you are coming from the United States you won’t be doing much travel to foreign countries for work. It might be a year before you get on a plane.

If you are wondering WHEN to have the conversation, I often advise my clients to wait until you think it will affect your job performance and/or you want to work on a maternity plan. There’s not much to think about until then.

But in the big picture, this is not a reason to be nervous. Women have children. That’s what a lot of us do...And we’ve been doing it for centuries. The priority right now is to your family. Work conversations can wait.

Cindy