16 May 2025 · Jennifer Wijaya
Finance Director · Mother of one, expecting
Pregnancy Announcement Ideas
I'm pregnant with my second, I've done this twice, and the hard part of announcing a pregnancy has nothing to do with the announcement.
The hard part is the order. Who hears first, who hears from you, who hears from somebody else and is hurt about it for a year. That's the part to plan. The clever reveal takes 10 minutes.
Most of this is sequencing, plus the 2 dates in Singapore that aren't optional.
Who to tell, and when
No rule says you have to follow the 12-week convention. It exists because miscarriage risk drops sharply after the first trimester, and it costs a lot of people a lot of support: the person who tells nobody until 12 weeks has nobody to tell if something goes wrong at 9.
My own position, not a recommendation, only what I did: anybody I'd want holding my hand through a loss got told early. Everybody else waited.
| Who | Typically when | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your partner | Immediately | Obviously |
| Anyone who would support you through a loss | Whenever you want | The first-trimester silence rule costs people support |
| Your employer | Before 20 weeks in Singapore | Required to qualify for maternity benefits |
| Close family | After the first scan, commonly | Around 12 weeks, once dating is confirmed |
| Extended family and friends | 12-16 weeks | After family, so nobody hears it second-hand |
| Social media | Last, if at all | Once everyone who counts has heard it directly |
The one row on that table with legal weight behind it is the employer. That's the next section.
Telling work: the Singapore dates
This is the part I care about. Getting it wrong costs money and nobody explains it clearly.
Government-Paid Maternity Leave is 16 weeks where the child is a Singapore citizen and you've been with the same employer for at least 3 continuous months before the birth. Where the child isn't a citizen, the Employment Act provides 12 weeks. Paternity leave and the shared parental leave scheme have both been changing (the last change I checked was in 2025), so confirm the current entitlement and don't trust a figure you read anywhere, including here.
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Three months' continuous employment before the birth | The qualifying condition for government-paid leave. If you're close to it, the date you start a new job counts for more than the date you announce |
| Whether the child will be a Singapore citizen | It decides whether you're on 16 weeks or 12 |
| Your notice obligation before starting leave | Late notice can reduce what you are paid for that period |
| Your company's own policy | Many employers here offer more than the statutory minimum, and nobody will tell you unless you ask |
| Any bonus or review date in the next 6 months | Good to know where it is relative to your leave, before the conversation and not after |
Go to mom.gov.sg for the current rules and figures. Employment law moves, my numbers will age, and this isn't the sort of thing to take from a blog post, mine included.
Practically: tell your manager before the office finds out another way, tell HR in writing so there's a record, and have the leave dates roughly worked out before you walk in. A first conversation where you already know what you're asking for goes much better than one where you don't.
Elsewhere in pregnancy
Ideas that work here
I'm not good at surprises, so I asked around. These are the ones people did. Pinterest had no say. I'd guess I've forgotten a few. Tell me.
- The scan photo, handed over in an envelope. It's the simplest one and it's the one that made both sets of our parents cry.
- A red packet with the scan inside, which works at Chinese New Year and needs no explanation at all.
- Ordering an extra portion at a family dinner and letting somebody work out why. Cheap, and it plays well in a family that eats together.
- A big-sibling shirt on your existing child, which does the announcing for you and requires you to say nothing.
- A dated ultrasound photo on the fridge, for people who visit often. Someone notices within a day.
- A group video call with both sides at once, which is the real answer for families spread across countries and is what we did with Jakarta.
- Telling people individually, in person, with no production at all. This is what most people do and it isn't a lesser option.
What I'd skip: anything that requires your existing toddler to say a specific line on cue. Mine is 2. It won't happen.
The in-laws, and both sides
Tell both sets on the same day. The one rule I'd treat as non-negotiable, and the one most likely to cause damage that lasts.
If one side is local and the other overseas, the visit and the video call happen within a few hours of each other, and you say so. "We're calling my parents this evening" removes any question of ranking. If the 2 sides are close enough to talk to each other, assume they will, the same day, before dinner.
Then decide together who else they're allowed to tell and when, and say it explicitly. A grandmother who has been told a secret hasn't necessarily been told it's one.
If you'd rather not announce at all
Then don't. There's no obligation to make an event of this, and a surprising number of people would rather it filtered out slowly.
Tell the handful who need to know, ask them not to broadcast it, and let the rest find out when they find out. Nobody who counts will mind. Skipping social media entirely is an ordinary choice. The people who care about your pregnancy are the ones you'd tell directly anyway.
The numbers people ask for
When should you announce a pregnancy?
Most people tell close family after the first scan at around 12 weeks and wider circles between 12 and 16 weeks. Anyone who would support you through a loss can be told whenever you want.
When do you have to tell your employer you're pregnant in Singapore?
Legally at least a week before maternity leave begins, but well before 20 weeks is the practical point. It gives time to plan cover and to sort the entitlement paperwork.
What are good pregnancy announcement ideas?
Tiny shoes on the shoe rack, a scan photo in a familiar local setting, an extra bowl at the reunion table, an older sibling with a sign they wrote, or simply a round of phone calls.
How do you tell both sets of parents?
On the same day, within an hour of each other, with who-tells-whom agreed in advance. Then set the onward rules explicitly, because family group chats move fast.
Do you have to wait until 12 weeks to tell people?
No. The convention exists to avoid having to un-announce, but it also means people go through early loss without support. It's a personal choice.
References
This guide is general information, written to help you understand a topic and ask better questions. It is not medical advice and does not replace your own doctor, midwife or paediatrician. Anything that worries you about your baby belongs with them.