Congratulations on your pregnancy! The timing you’re telling your PI on is very reasonable and common - they would be unreasonable for being upset you didn’t tell them sooner. Know that you are an asset to this group and it is so much better for the group to be able to hire and employ people who get pregnant than not to be. I hope your PI is reasonable and supportive but do be prepared to advocate for yourself. You got this! You’re in for a wonderful wild ride!
- had my baby almost 3 years ago, 1 year into my postdoc. Still loving the child and the job!
Congratulations! It’s absolutely normal to not tell people you’re expecting until after the 1st trimester. Don’t worry about that. I’m sure your PI would be happy for you.
I’d recommend you think a little about what that might mean for you before telling your PI: taking time off, for how long, where you’d like to leave your projects etc. You don’t need to have everything set in stone just some ideas that you can flesh out later, it would be great to show that you’ve thought about this somewhat. And maybe check your institution’s parental leave policy for postdocs.
Is there a postdoc association on your campus or an HR department you can chat with about available resources to support pregnant persons? It might be very helpful to know what your PI can and cannot do in regards to addressing your needs before have this conversation.
Congratulations! Last November I joined a new group and after a month later to our suprise we find out that I was pregnant. It was not an ideal situation since me and my husband moved to a new state with no support system or friends and I was getting started to a new job/research group. Just like you described I was extremely nervous and scared to share this news thinking that it would affect how I will be treated and not provided with the opportunities etc. I shared the news with my PI at around 12-13 weeks in and explained him what I plan to do in order to meet the deadlines. Everything went well up to this point and I am still working (38week pregnant currently) to wrap up couple final goals before the labor. I am not going to lie, it wasnt easy, and first trimester I was unbelievably tired all the time. I kept that I was pregnant from the rest of the group until I started to show (approx end of my second trimester) thinking that they might judge me differently compared to my PI.
I agree with others, pls check your rights such as parental leave, here state provides 6 week of paid parental leave which is making me feel less guilty for taking my leave tbh.
I wish you good luck and hopefully everything will go smooth for you!
Congratulations!!!!
Someone once told me, "Men don't have these feelings. You shouldn't either."
But I totally empathize. I interviewed for postdoc when I was a few weeks pregnant, accepted the offer, and didn't tell them until just before my start date. I felt so bad and was so nervous to have the conversation, but it was totally fine. Even if the PI felt slighted (i dont think they did), the support from my lab made me feel much better about it. I also made sure to work diligently to emphasize my commitment to the lab before and after (even during...) my maternity leave.
Enjoy the journey, enjoy your maternity leave, and set boundaries! It's possible to be a successful academic AND have a family.
I hired a post doc who became pregnant 1 month into their contract. She handled her pregnancy better than I did! 😂
I think it makes a difference if your PI is a parent themselves. My lab was happy for the post doc, we rallied around her to help and it was overall a pleasant experience.
I did feel bad for her as she was frustrated with herself & felt like she was letting her funding body down (philanthropic post doc). I tried to support her emotionally there.
Honestly- it’s part of life. Parent PIs know it’s not forever & post docs become stronger in the process.
Congratulations 🥂
I had my baby during my postdoc. Most women I know in my field did this. It was the perfect time. It’s very very common.
What I did not do is take leave. If I had to do it again, I absolutely would have!
Congratulations! Tell your PI ASAP (with no guilt!) so they can plan, accommodate, and look into getting funds to hire someone else to get work done while you are on leave. Multiple funding sources allow for this, so PIs are not dinged for productivity on grants while lab members are out. I am always happy to hear when my lab members are expecting (it has always been at the postdoc stage in my group) but it is always nice to have more time to plan how this will affect projects, progress reports, etc.
Do not feel guilty. Academia, where one of happiest moments of life induce guilt.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! The timing you’re telling your PI on is very reasonable and common - they would be unreasonable for being upset you didn’t tell them sooner. Know that you are an asset to this group and it is so much better for the group to be able to hire and employ people who get pregnant than not to be. I hope your PI is reasonable and supportive but do be prepared to advocate for yourself. You got this! You’re in for a wonderful wild ride! - had my baby almost 3 years ago, 1 year into my postdoc. Still loving the child and the job!
Congratulations! It’s absolutely normal to not tell people you’re expecting until after the 1st trimester. Don’t worry about that. I’m sure your PI would be happy for you. I’d recommend you think a little about what that might mean for you before telling your PI: taking time off, for how long, where you’d like to leave your projects etc. You don’t need to have everything set in stone just some ideas that you can flesh out later, it would be great to show that you’ve thought about this somewhat. And maybe check your institution’s parental leave policy for postdocs.
Is there a postdoc association on your campus or an HR department you can chat with about available resources to support pregnant persons? It might be very helpful to know what your PI can and cannot do in regards to addressing your needs before have this conversation.
Congratulations! Last November I joined a new group and after a month later to our suprise we find out that I was pregnant. It was not an ideal situation since me and my husband moved to a new state with no support system or friends and I was getting started to a new job/research group. Just like you described I was extremely nervous and scared to share this news thinking that it would affect how I will be treated and not provided with the opportunities etc. I shared the news with my PI at around 12-13 weeks in and explained him what I plan to do in order to meet the deadlines. Everything went well up to this point and I am still working (38week pregnant currently) to wrap up couple final goals before the labor. I am not going to lie, it wasnt easy, and first trimester I was unbelievably tired all the time. I kept that I was pregnant from the rest of the group until I started to show (approx end of my second trimester) thinking that they might judge me differently compared to my PI. I agree with others, pls check your rights such as parental leave, here state provides 6 week of paid parental leave which is making me feel less guilty for taking my leave tbh. I wish you good luck and hopefully everything will go smooth for you!
Congratulations!!!! Someone once told me, "Men don't have these feelings. You shouldn't either." But I totally empathize. I interviewed for postdoc when I was a few weeks pregnant, accepted the offer, and didn't tell them until just before my start date. I felt so bad and was so nervous to have the conversation, but it was totally fine. Even if the PI felt slighted (i dont think they did), the support from my lab made me feel much better about it. I also made sure to work diligently to emphasize my commitment to the lab before and after (even during...) my maternity leave. Enjoy the journey, enjoy your maternity leave, and set boundaries! It's possible to be a successful academic AND have a family.
I hired a post doc who became pregnant 1 month into their contract. She handled her pregnancy better than I did! 😂 I think it makes a difference if your PI is a parent themselves. My lab was happy for the post doc, we rallied around her to help and it was overall a pleasant experience. I did feel bad for her as she was frustrated with herself & felt like she was letting her funding body down (philanthropic post doc). I tried to support her emotionally there. Honestly- it’s part of life. Parent PIs know it’s not forever & post docs become stronger in the process. Congratulations 🥂
I had my baby during my postdoc. Most women I know in my field did this. It was the perfect time. It’s very very common. What I did not do is take leave. If I had to do it again, I absolutely would have!
One of my friends found out she was pregnant right after she started her postdoc. It happens. You’ll be fine
Congratulations! Tell your PI ASAP (with no guilt!) so they can plan, accommodate, and look into getting funds to hire someone else to get work done while you are on leave. Multiple funding sources allow for this, so PIs are not dinged for productivity on grants while lab members are out. I am always happy to hear when my lab members are expecting (it has always been at the postdoc stage in my group) but it is always nice to have more time to plan how this will affect projects, progress reports, etc.