Managing pregnancy disclosures: Understanding and overcoming the challenges of expectant motherhood at work

A common, complex, and underexamined aspect of women's experience at work emerges when work and motherhood intersect for the first time; pregnant workers are challenged by the need to manage their impressions and identities. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to propose a model and corresponding propositions for understanding the determinants and outcomes of pregnancy disclosure. We extend stigma theory to the case of pregnant workers and explore the antecedents and consequences associated with timing of expectant status disclosure from the perspectives of pregnant women and their colleagues. We describe negative intra- and interpersonal experiences that may be encountered by pregnant women that may account for their departure from the workforce, thereby providing insight into the issues that may exacerbate (or ameliorate) turnover among working mothers.