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I accepted an offer as an honors attorney at a government agency. The start date is at the end of the summer. My due date is likely 2-4 weeks before my start date. I haven't told them. Is my expectation that I will be able to go back to work after 2-4 weeks off unrealistic? Should I say something now or wait or not say anything at all?

gogogogo wrote:I accepted an offer as an honors attorney at a government agency. The start date is at the end of the summer. My due date is likely 2-4 weeks before my start date. I haven't told them. Is my expectation that I will be able to go back to work after 2-4 weeks off unrealistic? Should I say something now or wait or not say anything at all?

not saying anything sounds like the worst idea. ever.

First off, congrats!

Second, I would probably let them know.

You have much to be excited about! Congratulations!

I would let them know and figure out quickly if you want to work with a newborn or if you would rather not. If you do, you have time to figure out logistics. If you no longer wish to work so soon after having your child, let them know that sooner rather than later so as to not leave them hanging.

I'm an Honors Attorney and I've heard of other attorneys working with different start dates, etc. because of a recent childbirth. I'd just talk to HR and see what works best.

I was hired through the honors program, and had a pretty big range of possible start dates (October - December). I would budget for more time after the birth and ask about starting later. It's doubtless easier for them to have you start later than if you were going to give birth in December, say.

(I say budget more time mostly to cover potential medical issues - god forbid - not based on how long people "should" stay home with their baby.)

And congrats!

Congratulations!

As far as your question, it might be a little unrealistic.. I'm sure you're bound to get a ton of advice from everyone, but my wife and I recently had our first child. She went into labor a week and a half after her due date, which they really just estimate based on the date of your last menstrual cycle. Your due date is a really rough estimation, since every pregnancy is different. After she delivered, she couldn't do anything but stay in bed and briefly walk around the house. We ended up going to the ER because my wife developed really bad cramps and bleeding, which resulted from exertion. Her exertion was walking up and down our stairs maybe twice a day and walking to the car.

My wife and I also recently had our first child and she had to have a C-section due to the fact that our son was breach. My wife was seriously out of commission for a couple of weeks (e.g. we slept in our guest bedroom because my wife couldn't walk up the stairs to our bedroom). You really never know what is going to happen. Not to mention I find it extremely unlikely that they are going to hold it against you that you're pregnant! If anything you're going to get a congrats and a nice card.

The worst thing you could do is not let them know until you're 7-8 months pregnant. Also, depending on how far along you are, you shouldn't feel as if you have to let them (or anyone else) know right away, which is pretty typical nowadays since most people know that the majority of complications occur early on in a pregnancy.

Thanks for all the great advice! The possibility of complications is a huge factor that I never really considered before. It seems like the consensus is to tell them sometime after the first trimester and pray that it doesn't impact the job offer.

gogogogo wrote:Thanks for all the great advice! The possibility of complications is a huge factor that I never really considered before. It seems like the consensus is to tell them sometime after the first trimester and pray that it doesn't impact the job offer.

I cannot see why a reasonable accommodation won't be made on their part, such as delaying your start date by another two weeks when it's already months away.

This is protected by law, and even if it wasn't think about it economically. Many attorneys at your office are female. Many females can get pregnant. Do you think your office wants to send a message that pregnant age women are unwelcome? This is much more damaging than the minor inconvenience of your pregnancy.

Congrats! I'm an attorney at a federal agency and from my experience the agency is very accommodating to people in your situation. In fact, I think they are obligated to be under the Rehabilitation Act and there should be someone in the Human Resources Office who works on reasonable accommodations who will help you. I would be absolutely shocked if this were a problem for your agency so long as you tell them. The only way it can be problematic is if you don't tell them ahead of time.

gogogogo wrote:Thanks for all the great advice! The possibility of complications is a huge factor that I never really considered before. It seems like the consensus is to tell them sometime after the first trimester and pray that it doesn't impact the job offer.

Yeah, as soon as my wife got pregnant and we starting talking to other couples, I realized that pretty much nobody gets through an entire pregnancy and birth without some type of complication.

Just an update: They were very accommodating. They gave me a lot of flexibility in my start date (up to 6 months). It was a non-issue.

Glad to hear, and congratulations!

That's awesome. Congrats and get sleep while you can. And go to the movies.

I love a happy ending!