Expecting mums want to keep their pregnancy under wraps for various reasons. They want to find the right way to tell their family, avoid getting a barage of well-intentioned advice or maybe have a complicated medical history.
A few years ago, mum Kristy Mckenzie was left devastated after logging into Facebook and seeing that a friend had made the decision for her.
Writing in Mamamia, Mckenzie said, "Back in 2012 after almost 12 months of trying to fall pregnant, my husband and I finally had some exciting news. We’ve never been ones to wait until the magical 12-week mark to tell our immediate family, so of course; they were privy to our news almost immediately."
Mckenzie says she and her husband were waiting until their third pregnancy 'felt real' to make the big announcement on Facebook.
"When that moment arrived, to see our little bub on the ultrasound monitor, we were relieved to finally make it to that monumental (or it felt like it at the time) milestone.
"Neither of us was in any rush to make the social media announcement just yet, though. For some reason, we were both happy with our friends and family knowing, the ones that we saw in person regularly, that we didn’t need to make the announcement yet."
Mckenzie said she and her husband saw reaching the ultrasound milestone as the 'safer' time to announce their pregnancy on social media, although they still weren't 100 per cent ready.
"In saying that, it was still something that both of us very much looked forward to when the appropriate time came."
So, when Mckenzie logged onto Facebook one day and saw that someone else had announced her pregnancy for her, she was understandably gutted.
"I was not only emotionally gutted, I was also incredibly nervous. We weren’t ready yet. The pregnancy still didn’t seem ‘solid’ enough yet. It was too early. What happened if I miscarried? I wasn’t prepared to make that additional announcement down the track."
Mckenzie says she was inundated with messages from well-wishers offering congratulations but also saying they were disappointed that they had heard the news from a third party.
Mckenzie offered some stern advice to friends and families of expecting families: "It should go without saying that one of the first rules of social media etiquette in terms of announcements is you do not announce someone else’s news before they do.
"This includes adding a photo to your Facebook or Instagram page, and writing a message of congratulations on someone else’s social media page. If in doubt, have a quick look at their page, ask them if they’ve made it public news yet, message them privately, or simply don’t say anything at all."
Mckenzie says that no matter the number of children she already has, her third pregnancy announcement is no less sacred and exciting than the first two: "Reaching the point of being able to announce what is sometimes long awaited news, is incredibly exciting. It’s part of the experience. We are now fast approaching the birth of our third child, and I can tell you that the announcement part is no less exciting than it was the first two times."
