About To Ask If Baby's On The Way? Think First, Says Ramona Nicholas

Business whiz and Dragon's Den star Ramona Nicholas says Irish people should stop and think before asking a woman about her plans to have a baby. The joint Managing Director of the Cara Group, who is mum to Alex (5), will be taking a break from the Den to focus on her pregnancy after trying to conceive for more than three years. Nichols (38) her husband Canice had almost given up hope of having another child and found people could be insensitive when discussing the issue with them:

"We had been trying for a while and I was having both women and men - but more women - ask me if I was pregnant because my stomach was a bit swollen due to a cyst on my ovary," she told the Sunday Independent. "It happens to lots of women.

"On another occasion I was on holiday with my husband and I got a text congratulating me on my pregnancy. I just replied saying that I would love to be, but I am not. They had heard it down the country somewhere."

Eventually the couple decided to focus on enjoying life with Alex, having decided IVF wasn't for them. The happy news was a bolt from the blue: "It distracted me so I wasn't expecting it," says Ramona. With baby number two due in March, the multi-millionairess is determined to take time out to enjoy some maternity leave, something she regretted after she had her first child:

"I was 32, I was young and I wanted to prove a point. In my head I was thinking 'if my husband is able to go back out to work, why do I have to stay at home?'

"Now I feel more confident that I can make a decision and that I don't have to be driven by what other people expect I should be doing as a woman who is running their own business."

About To Ask If Baby’s On The Way? Think First, Says Ramona Nicholas