Announcing pregnancy to clients as a sole practitioner

[Anonymous]

Yes to the 7:12 poster's response. I just went through this with my therapist. We meet weekly, so she told me (and all her clients, I assume) somewhere around 5 months or so, when it was becoming obvious (partly concealed for a long time because of the way she always has dressed). She detailed the back-up plans for maternity leave, how long she would be gone, alternatives for therapists in an emergency during her leave, and so forth. It was rather informal, but we have been meeting for a couple of years, so it was fine. For others, she might have been more formal. I had no problem with it at all. She is taking around 6-8 weeks leave, then coming back. Just be honest, forthright, and thorough. I totally disagree that it is too "personal" as other pp's have implied. This is the definition of "need to know" since it will directly affect your clients, your time in the office, and, feasibly, their work. A professor of mine that is pregnant did not disclose to class directly, but certainly didn't deny it if asked, but she will give birth after our class is over and so will have absolutely no impact. Therefore, telling us about her pregnancy did not matter and was more of her own "personal" business. I chatted with her informally about it once or twice, but she never did tell the class as a whole. HTH!