Teachers & treatment

[Rainbowdreams82]

Anyone else out there who is a teacher and had any info about having treatment along with returning to work? I’m happy to continue to work from home but not confident or happy going back as I continue my long fertility journey through IVF etc. Is there any guidance regarding treatment etc? To me, it’s too important to risk but do I have a leg to stand on?

[Fingerscrossed34]

My husband is a teacher and I’m about to start treatment for a FET in June. We lost our daughter in January so I’m absolutely petrified about him going back. He doesn’t think there’s anything he can do. His school are prioritising the young “childless” teachers for going back first. I think if your clinic says anything then surely you can argue you can’t go back to work because it jeopardises your treatment for infertility which is recognised as a disease. That would be my argument anyway. Be interested to know what you find out!

[Rainbowdreams82 in reply to Fingerscrossed34]

Thanks for that, yeah I think I need to get more info from my clinic. It is all a bit scary when our journeys are tough enough and as much as I love my job, my priority is my IVF journey rights so would prefer to continue working from home. Sorry to hear about losing your daughter. You’ve had a tough year so it’s understandable you want to focus on this too. Will keep this thread updated if I get anywhere. Think I’ll speak to my head teacher about my concerns in the meantime x

[Starsandsunbeams]

Hi, I am a teacher and will be starting FET cycle too. Clinic have not said anything about it to me. I have the guidance from the HFEA in a summarised form about risks of covid 19 and pregnancy. I'll send you a screenshot as I can't attach a picture on this thread. I'm going to go back into work and waiting to see how things settle before I make the decision of working in the building during treatment or asking to work from home xx It's a tough one isn't it. This journey was tricky enough without Covid 19!!

[Rainbowdreams82 in reply to Starsandsunbeams]

That’s appreciated. Yeah it’s definitely a tough one. I don’t start back until August but will be then on my IVF protocol so don’t really want to be putting myself at risk going into the school building. You’re the right, the journey is tricky enough and at my age and after trying for so long I feel I want to focus on this and not feel pressure to be in school

[ttcemmie]

Hi lovely. My clinic has sent me very specific written information about needing to shield etc. whilst treatment is ongoing as they will basically cancel our treatment at the drop of a hat (and definitely if we test positive for coronavirus). They have also said to keep young children at home, don't use public transport etc. Very strict. Don't know what other clinics are saying - that's just what ours is saying. Going through medical procedures should hopefully be important for your employer to recognise you need to continue working from home. I'm not a teacher, but if my workplace asks me to come back in to the office, then I am going to have to say no. Do what's best for you. Hopefully your school is understanding. xxx

[Rainbowdreams82 in reply to ttcemmie]

Thank you so much for that ttcemmie I definitely agree that it’s such a risk and definitely don’t want any further delay and cancellations to an already lengthy and up and down journey. I appreciate that and think I’ll be finding out more when I speak to my clinic. Wishing you all the best when you start again too xx

[Hopeandhell]

Hi hun. Really glad you asked this question. I’m also a teacher and I’m going back in a few weeks. My clinic hasn’t started short protocol treatments yet but hopefully it will do in July. I am going to tell the school I can’t work on-site during treatment. I’m so sorry to hear about your little girl. It’s so hard isn’t it. I lost mine last January, since then I’ve had polyps removed and a coil in and out. This journey is even more difficult when you’ve had a baby and then lost them. Here if you need someone x

[farfalle15]

Hey, it's such a tough situation to be in, isn't it. I really hope your headteacher is sympathetic. In terms of guidance, my clinic gave us Covid-19 documents which said we should self-isolate while treatment is ongoing. Has your clinic given any written guidance? A nurse did then tell us that they didn't insist on self-isolation, despite the documents saying that, but that kind of document could be useful to show to your head. Legally, I remember researching rights at work before which said that you are considered pregnant from the date of embryo transfer until 2 weeks after the pregnancy test (whatever the result) - so for that specific 4-week period then we are in the government's clinically vulnerable category, and if pregnant members of staff are allowed to work from home then you should be too. I know the NEU says that clinically vulnerable staff should be able to work from home and that under section 44 of the employment act you can refuse to work if it is unsafe, so you could talk to your union rep if you have one (or join if you don't!) Hopefully you won't need any of this info, but worth knowing in case! I'm in the same situation, but I am lucky to have a very supportive headteacher, who said straight away that it was ok to continue working from home without me needing to mention any of the above. I was very worried about returning to the classroom - as much as I love it, we've been waiting to start a family for so long, and I just didn't want to jeopardise it with the chance of coming into contact with the virus, so I understand how you feel. Wishing you lots of luck xx

[BettyBe]

Thanks for the post. I’m a teacher also but won’t be starting treatment until end of July (when we are on summer holidays, presumably). Would it be advisable to still shield from 15th June / would clinic be worried about contact I’ve had?