不管你的老板懂不懂法，斯皮格尔都建议你“尽快告诉他你怀孕的事实。但如果你还没有遭遇任何孕期并发症，先不要提这种可能性。”如果病症的确发生并有医生确诊后，你将受到另外一部联邦法律——《美国残疾人法案》（Americans with Disabilities Act）的保护，该法案规定雇主对有健康问题的下属负有“合理对待”的义务。斯皮格尔说：“但如果迄今为止还只是假设。那你没必要提及。”

    伊莱恩•威尔拉斯也赞同这种观点。她说：“现在，给你的老板和团队提供他们需要了解的信息足矣。不要提到 ‘假设的情况’，大多数人都知道这些情况有可能发生，不需要你亲口说出来。”威尔拉斯是高管培训与发展公司Keystone Partners的管理合伙人，在18年前，她是该公司第一位休产假的女性。

    威尔拉斯表示，任何人如果预计在未来需要休假，都应该制定详细的计划，无论是请假“放松、度蜜月、休病假或产假”。她说：“你的目标是确保在你离开期间，一切都能正常运转。”

    尤其是要尽可能详细地整理和记录你正在做的所有事项。她表示：“你必须保证自己休假期间，如果其他人无法联系到你，也能毫不费力找到你留下的联系信息和项目进展情况。如果什么也找不到，会让人非常生气，并开始质疑你的职业度。”

    说到记录所有工作内容，我们再回到你前面提到的“不利影响”。或许，这种情况并不会出现。但经过一段时间之后，如果你有理由相信，因为自己怀孕而被剥夺了升职机会，或者被拒绝负责一项美差，斯皮格尔建议：“应该书面报告给人力资源部门。”

    另外你还可以享受到的合法保护是，美国《家庭医疗休假法案》（Family and Medical Leave Act）禁止雇主打击报复因身体状况无薪休假的员工。该法案的管辖对象为50到50人以上的公司。制作一份清晰的书面记录，并妥善保存，当你真的遇到麻烦时，它“可以让你的上诉更容易得到支持。”（财富中文网）

    反馈：如果你曾在工作期间怀孕，或曾休过产假，你是在什么时候通过什么方式告诉老板的？欢迎在下方留言。

    翻译：刘进龙/汪皓

    Whether or not your boss belongs in that category, Spiggle advises you to "tell him you're pregnant as soon as you're sure. But, if you're not experiencing any complications yet, don't bring up the possibility." If and when medical difficulties arise that can be documented by a doctor, you may qualify for protection under a different federal law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with health issues. "But until then, it's only hypothetical," Spiggle says. "So there's no reason to mention it."

    Elaine Varelas agrees. "At this point, give your boss and your team as much information as they need, but no more than that. Don't get into the 'what ifs,' which most people already know could occur, anyway, without your having to spell it out." A managing partner at executive coaching and development firm Keystone Partners, Varelas was the first woman at her company to take a maternity leave 18 years ago.

    Varelas notes that anyone who expects to be away from the office in the future for any reason -- whether it's "a vacation, a honeymoon, a medical leave, or a maternity leave" -- should make a detailed plan. "Your goal is to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible during your absence," she says.

    In particular, organize and document everything you're doing as thoroughly as you can. "You need to make it very easy and painless for other people to find information on your contacts and the status of your projects if you're not there and can't be reached," she says. "When people can't find things, that's when they get upset and start questioning your professionalism."

    Speaking of documenting everything, let's get back to your concerns about repercussions. Maybe there won't be any. But after some time, if you have reason to believe that you're being, for example, passed over for promotion or denied plum assignments because you're pregnant, "report it in writing to human resources," Spiggle says.

    On top of your other legal protections, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which covers companies with 50 or more employees, prohibits employers from retaliating against anyone for taking unpaid time off to deal with a medical condition. Creating a clear paper trail "can make it a lot easier to support your claim if it turns out that you have one." Good luck.

    Talkback:If you've ever been expecting a child while working, or if you took a parental leave, how and when did you tell your boss? Leave a comment below.