Happy news

It’s custom in both Italy and England to wait to announce a pregnancy until after the first trimester. This isn’t some weird cultural quirk, it’s in case you have a miscarriage which is reasonably common in the early weeks. However, people in Italy seem to take this social rule far more seriously than we do in the UK and if you announce your happy news too early it can be met with uncomfortable and embarrassed silences.

I’m the type of person who blurts these things out the minute I know, to whoever will listen – friends, family, neighbours, shopkeepers and complete strangers. My reasoning is that if I did lose the baby I would want people to know why I was so unhappy. I guess it makes a big difference if you or your family have a history of miscarriages.

In England my reasoning seems the norm these days, most friends confide as soon as they know but normally under the veil of secrecy so that these days no pregnancy is ever officially announced; the news circulates the grapevine until everyone knows but nobody is sure they should.

Yet despite my attitude in real life, I somehow didn’t want to announce my pregnancy on this blog until I was over the first hurdle. So there it is, baby number 2 is officially due mid March.