It’s the one time in your life you could really use a beer—and you can’t have one

“It’s truly amazing how one phone call can change so many aspects of your life,” says Marsha Martin, a mom in Jacksonville, FL. One Monday morning this summer, just after 8 a.m., Martin’s manager called her and read from a script: “Your position has been eliminated, effective today.”

Martin was seven months pregnant. “In one day, we went from planning a trip to Walt Disney World to wondering how we were going to afford the mortgage and the upcoming hospital bills,” she says.

Believe it or not, if your company boots you due to budget—not belly—it’s perfectly within the law. But while more than 14 million Americans are currently out of work, being pregnant and jobless presents unique challenges. Here are three stories from women getting through it, one day at a time.

From breadwinner to no dough
Stacey Morrisroe of Hawthorne, NJ, lost her marketing job in this year’s stark winter—when her husband, who is self-employed, also couldn’t find work.

Because she was the family breadwinner, their income went from six figures to low enough to qualify for free milk, eggs, and cheese from the government. “It was a very humbling experience, to say the least,” says Morrisroe, who ultimately did take advantage of these benefits.

Morrisroe is now working her network to the hilt, attending professional events and sending out resumes. Stressed about finding work before her unemployment checks run out, she isn’t telling employers that she’s pregnant.

“After all, as tough as the job market is right now, who in their right mind would want to hire a pregnant woman?” Morrisroe asks.

Don’t ask, don’t tell?
If you’re not showing, you do have to weigh whether it’s best to spill your secret. Telling the truth about your status may lead a prospective employer to jump to conclusions about whether you’ll be around for the long haul, despite laws that prohibit such assumptions.

But if you’re walking into an office visibly pregnant, it’s only human nature for the interviewer to take note, says Tory Johnson, author of Fired to Hired. Empathize and put yourself in his shoes, says Marjorie Greenfield, M.D., author of The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Book.