shift work and ttc

[Connie290]

Hi all,

I've been ttc for over a year with no joy. I've had a blood test through my GP and the results came back completely normal, so I'm now waiting for a referral to the fertility clinic for ultrasounds.

I currently work with the emergency services and work a 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off pattern. I've been reading up on how sleep disruption can affect fertility in women and it's really concerning me. My question is, has anyone been through something similar and found that adjusting your shift pattern helped at all? As I said,being emergency services I can't just change my pattern on a whim, but I'm trying to gather evidence to take to HR to try and convince them to temporarily adjust my shift pattern to see if it helps at all.

thanks.

[Sunny39]

Hi Connie290, I have wondered and thought the same as you. I’m a nurse and have always worked shifts since leaving school-many many years ago 😂.My first two rounds of IVF I worked straight through, just taking a week off after transfer each time. Our third and final round, I took unpaid leave with the help of family, from the day I started my injections to my test day. We finally got our positive! I’m currently 29 weeks pregnant.

I then panicked about going back to work at only 2 weeks pregnant. Luckily my manager was amazing and has put me on admin since. I’m sure that has had a huge part to play in me getting this far.

I know shift work definitely doesn’t help with fertility- I looked into this when we were trying. As your body is all over the place with days and nights etc. So many nurses I know have also gone through IVF, but I’m not sure if it’s down to the shifts, or the stress of the job, not getting breaks-poor nutrition etc. Stress can play a big role too. Which would obviously apply with your job too.

I would push for as many changes to your role as possible. It’s not for forever, but if it means you get to become a mum it’s so worth it.

Wishing you all the luck in the world x x x