How to Announce Pregnancy to Your Family

No matter what memories play in the video loop of your childhood, one thing is certain—our families and friends (who felt like family) shaped our lives. Now, as an expectant mom, you’re on the incredible journey of starting a family of your own.

When it comes time to share the news of your growing family tree with the people who helped you bloom, you can create a new memory they can reminisce about for years to come. Take a look at 18 creative, hilarious, and tear-jerking ideas for how to announce pregnancy to your family.

When to Make the Announcement 

Figuring out the best time and when to announce your pregnancy is important when considering the next steps. Typically, most parents share the big news at around week 13 of pregnancy, when you’re out of the first trimester and your baby is about the size of a lemon.

After week 12, the chance of miscarriage decreases to just 5%. Though it can feel difficult to keep the new baby a secret for so long, waiting until 13 weeks helps ensure the news you share will only be good.

How to Announce Pregnancy to Family & Friends

From face-to-face announcements to a thoughtful pregnancy announcement photo, the mode of communication is something to consider when announcing your pregnancy:

• Face-to-face – When possible, sharing the news face-to-face is perfect for telling dear friends, family, and of course your partner. That way, you get to enjoy the surprise, glee, and love lighting up their faces in person.
• Personal phone call, video call, email, or text message – If face-to-face isn’t possible or practical, you can always reach out with a phone call or video conference. If you’re sharing the news through a video conference, say you have someone you’d like to introduce to your loved ones. Be sure to hit record before you start your cute pregnancy announcement!
• Through a formal announcement card – Formal announcement cards are a beautiful and traditional way to let your communities know you’re expecting. Plus, announcement cards can be a sweet token of remembrance. If you’re a scrapbooker (or want to become one), you’ll love including your pregnancy announcement card in your child’s baby book.
• Social media – The digital equivalent of shouting the news from the rooftops, social media is an efficient way to let a lot of people know about your pregnancy reveal, fast. Plus, social media offers the opportunity to be creative in how you share your family’s new addition.

It can help to make a list of everyone you want to tell and break them up into sections based on how you want to give them the news. If you’re not sure who to tell face-to-face and who to reach out to in other ways, put yourself in their shoes: would you be hurt if you found out your friend or relative was pregnant through a public Instagram post? Or would you want them to tell you in a more personalized way? That will guide you to your answer.

18 Fun Baby Announcement Ideas

There are only a few times in life you get the chance to make a pregnancy announcement to family (unless you’re really busy planting those seeds). Whether you’re sharing the news with your parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, you want to make the moment as memorable as possible. To that end, we’ve compiled a list of 18 pregnancy announcement ideas reveal the news of your expanding family to your existing family.

#1 Gift a Personalized Baby Onesie

Nothing says “We’re Expecting” quite as adorably as tiny baby clothes. ( Seriously, how do they even make baby shoes that small?) To reveal the big news to your family in a way that’s sure to elicit shock and aww, give them a personalized baby onesie. Your onesie can include phrases such as, “I Love My Grandparents” or “My Aunt is the Coolest Person I Know.” Plus, with sites like Etsy, you can even further personalize your onesie to represent all the Mee-Maws, Pop-Pops, and Gammies in your life.

#2 Wear a Pregnancy Reveal Shirt

Baby clothes are cute, but your clothes can be too, especially if you find a unique pregnancy reveal shirt. Wear your telling outfit to a family dinner or event, then wait to see who’s the first to read between the lines.

Online shops have a variety of pregnancy reveal shirts to choose from, incorporating everything from watermelons and not-so-subtly placed arrows, to seasonally-angled pumpkins and spring chicks.

#3 Announce the Siblings-in-Training

Your second pregnancy announcement opens the door for new and unique ways to announce your big news.

If you already have a baby (whether a human baby or a fur baby), you can prepare your toddler for your new baby and reveal your pregnancy at the same time by dressing them in clothes that read “Big Brother in Training, “Proud Big Sister,” or “My Parents Are Getting Me a Human.”

After you’ve surprised your family, take a photoshoot for pictures you can pull from to announce your pregnancy on social media later.

#4 Celebrate with Personalized Wine or Beer Bottles

Before they notice that you’re not drinking, surprise your family with the baby news by bringing wine or beer with personalized labels to a family dinner or event. Consider using your sonogram photo or use it as an excuse to get a cute pregnancy announcement photo! Labels are easy to create through photo-editing apps or sites like Etsy, and afterward, your folks can pop those bottles to celebrate (while you enjoy a special Mama-to-Be mocktail).

#5 Couple the News with a Cup of Coffee

What’s stronger than a cup of coffee in the morning? How about a surprise pregnancy announcement? Decorate mugs for Grandma and Grandpa with images of storks, baby shoes, or even your baby’s due date. Not only are mugs a fun way to announce your pregnancy news to your parents, but they’re also reusable keepsakes to enjoy for many mornings to come (particularly those early mornings they’re lucky enough to babysit).

#6 Scratch-Off Fake Lottery Tickets

Finding out you’re pregnant can feel like winning the lottery, especially if you announce your pregnancy with fake lottery scratch-off tickets. They look like the real deal, are easy to use, and the best part? Everyone’s a winner.

#7 Or Scratch-Off a Greeting Card

Keep the fun of the scratch-off without raising suspicions by presenting your parents, siblings, or cousins with scratch-off greeting cards. You can purchase premade greeting or pregnancy announcement cards through Amazon or Etsy, or create your own with scratch-off stickers.

#8 Buy a Baby Book

If you’re looking for another creative way to announce your pregnancy that’s sure to tug on your parents’ heartstrings, look no further than baby books made specifically for grandparents. By presenting your parents with a special baby book, you not only give them the surprise of a lifetime, but you also provide them with a story they can read to their grandchild over and over again. ( We’re not crying, you’re crying.)

#9 Frame Your First Sonogram Photo

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so if you’re at a loss for how to say you’re pregnant, show you’re pregnant by giving your folks a framed photo of your first ultrasound photo. You can even customize the frame with your baby’s name and due date for an even more special keepsake.

#10 Dazzle Them with Jewelry

Surprise grandma-to-be with a personalized piece of jewelry, such as a necklace or bracelet with the baby’s birthstone, your mother’s birthstone, and your birthstone. This way, she can show off her gift and (with your permission) share the pregnancy news herself with her close friend group, neighbors, mailman, grocery store cashier—you know she’s going to tell everyone she knows.

#11 Crack an Egg

Want to hatch a creative plan for telling your family you’re egg -specting a baby? To break the news, place a cute pregnancy announcement note inside a fake egg. When your family members crack the egg open, they’ll find your announcement waiting inside. Chick out Etsy to order eggs of any size or color. We’ll be here, thinking of more egg -xellent puns.

#12 Put a Bun in the Oven

Literally. Place a hamburger or hot dog bun in your oven, invite your folks over for dinner, and after a while, casually ask, “Did I leave something in the oven?” It may not be the most sentimental of announcements, but it’s sure to spark those smiles. After all, who doesn’t love a little wordplay?

#13 Host a Game Night

Speaking of play, why not have a little fun with your family and surprise them with your pregnancy during a game night. Have them be the ones to say “You’re having a baby” through a game of charades, Pictionary, or even Scrabble. They’ll win the game, and you’ll win for best pregnancy announcement of the night.

#14 Mark the Date on a Calendar

Start the baby countdown by marking your baby’s due date in a calendar. You can make it extra exciting with sparkle pens or stickers. Then, give the calendar to your parents as a gift. Ask them to check the month of your due date, saying you’ve penciled in the date of a “family reunion.” When they turn to that month, they’ll be surprised by the news of a brand new family member.

#15 Clip Some Baby Coupons

Creating baby coupons that are “Good for One Nephew” or “Redeemable for One Grandchild” are a fun way to surprise the soon-to-be grandparents, aunts, or uncles in your life (especially if they love a good bargain).

#16 Create a “Grandparent Starter Kit”

For a unique pregnancy announcement to parents, create grandparent starter kits. You can include onesies, binkies, socks, and whatever else they may need to prepare them for your family’s newest addition. For a sentimental touch, you can even add a note from their grandchild-to-be. For laughs, replace the note with a grandparent survival guide. (Either way, you’ll probably also want to include a pack of tissues.)

#17 Listen to the Heart

For an announcement that’s music to everyone’s ears, record your baby’s heartbeat during your first sonogram appointment. Then, play the recording back to your family under the guise of showing them your new favorite song. It won’t take long for them to realize who those tiny heartbeats belong to.

#18 Take the Cake

Complement your sweet news with the sweet taste of dessert by announcing your pregnancy with a “We’re Pregnant” cake or cake topper. Plus, if you wait to share the news until after you find out your baby’s gender, and combine the announcement with a gender reveal, you can add color to the inside of your cake to further surprise your folks with this pregnancy announcement idea.

Granddaughter or Grandson, Niece or Nephew, Find Out Sooner with SneakPeek

Adding a cute new branch to your ever-expanding family tree is a momentous occasion that deserves an equally momentous announcement. By choosing a unique, fun, and cute way to share the happy, exciting news with your close family, you give them an unforgettable moment to look back on for years to come (and eventually, share with your baby). If you’re interested in learning more about when to announce pregnancy or are looking for ideas for your pregnancy announcement to your husband or partner, be sure to check out our linked blogs!

Want to make your pregnancy announcement even more unforgettable? Let your folks know if your budding baby is a boy or a girl as early as 7 weeks into your pregnancy journey with SneakPeek’s Early Gender DNA Test. With over 99% accurate1 results, SneakPeek offers the most scientifically-validated early gender DNA test on the market today. Plus, you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your home to get answers. ( No wonder it’s trusted by over 1 million moms—and we all know moms know best).

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At SneakPeek, our commitment is to provide accurate, up-to-date, and reliable information to empower our readers. Our content is thoroughly researched, reviewed by medical experts, and fact-checked to ensure its credibility. We prioritize the well-being and education of our readers, and our editorial policy adheres to the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in all our articles.

This post has been reviewed for accuracy by:

Priscilla Jeng

Priscilla Jeng is an accomplished digital marketing expert, currently leading as the Associate Director of Digital Marketing at Gateway Genomics, the parent company of SneakPeek. With over four years at Gateway Genomics, Priscilla has played a pivotal role in amplifying the company's mission to develop innovative genetic tests. Her proficiency in digital marketing and her comprehensive understanding of the genomics industry position her as a key contributor to SneakPeek's marketing endeavors.

Sources:

Medical News Today. When is it safe to announce pregnancy? Timings. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/when-is-it-safe-to-announce-pregnancy#chance-of-miscarriage

Healthline Parenthood. Pregnancy After Miscarriage: Answers to Your Questions. https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/when-to-announce-your-pregnancy#risk-of-miscarriage

USC Fertility. 5 Things You Should Know About Recurrent Miscarriages. https://uscfertility.org/5-things-know-recurrent-miscarriages/