What a Fertility-Friendly Workplace Would Look Like (So You Notice When Yours Isn’t)

Fertility-Friendly Workplace

You’re trying to grow your family and your career at the same time.

On paper, that sounds empowering. In real life, it can feel like:

• 6:30 a.m. blood tests

• 8:30 a.m. stand-up meetings

• Midday ultrasounds hidden as “dentist” appointments

• Afternoons pretending you’re not exhausted, bloated or on the edge of tears

If your workplace isn’t explicitly fertility-friendly, IVF and egg freezing can become a secret second job:

• Juggling meds, scans and procedures around meeting calendars

• Carrying the emotional load of each cycle in silence

• Worrying that time off or reduced performance will hurt your reputation

This article walks through:

• What “fertility-friendly” workplaces actually look like (and why so few exist)

• How to plan IVF / egg freezing when your job isn’t built for it

• Whether, when and how to disclose to a manager or HR

• Scripts you can use if you do decide to tell someone

• Boundaries to protect your mental health and career while you’re in treatment

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Workplace rights vary by country and contract, so always check your local laws and your employer’s policies.

What a Fertility-Friendly Workplace Would Look Like (So You Notice When Yours Isn’t)

Before we talk survival strategies, it helps to name the gap.

A genuinely fertility-friendly workplace usually has:

• Flexible hours for early-morning bloods and ultrasounds

• No penalty (overt or subtle) for using sick leave or personal/carer leave for treatment

• Understanding from managers that IVF and egg freezing can involve sudden timetable changes

• Confidential HR processes for health-related leave

• No fertility shaming (“you’re so lucky, I wish I could take time off for that”)

• Sometimes even formal policies around fertility treatment, pregnancy loss and family forming (including solo parents and LGBTQIA+ families)

Most workplaces are… not there yet.

Instead, women report:

• Feeling judged for “too many appointments”

• Being expected to make up hours in the evenings

• Hearing comments like “we can’t keep covering for you”

• Fearing that being open about IVF will cost them promotions

You’re not oversensitive if your workplace doesn’t feel safe to be honest about treatment. You’re noticing a structural problem, not a personal weakness.

Step 1: Get Clear on Your Treatment Demands

It’s hard to navigate work if you don’t know roughly what’s coming.

Ask your fertility specialist or clinic:

 “What does a typical cycle look like for someone in my situation?”

• How many appointments?

• What time of day are bloods/scans usually done?

• How much notice do I get?

“Which parts definitely need time off, and for how long?”

• Egg collection

• Embryo transfer

• Recovery time

“What side effects might affect my work capacity?”

• Fatigue, bloating, mood swings, headaches, nausea

Get a realistic view of:

• How many early starts

• How many mid-day absences

• How many full or half days off for procedures

You’re not being “difficult” by asking. You’re planning.

Step 2: Decide If You’ll Disclose — and to Whom

There’s no one right answer here. Disclosure is a strategic decision, not a moral test.

Broad options:

1. Tell no one

• Pros: privacy, no awkward questions, no stigma if workplace is unsupportive

• Cons: you carry everything alone, harder to explain unpredictable absence or performance dips

2. Tell one trusted person (usually your direct manager or HR)

• Pros: can negotiate flexible arrangements, less need to lie or over-explain

• Cons: requires vulnerability; depends heavily on that person’s attitude

3. Tell a small, carefully chosen circle

• e.g. manager + HR, or manager + one key colleague

• Pros: spreads understanding; gives you more practical backup for meetings and deadlines

• Cons: more people in the loop; privacy risk if your workplace culture is loose about gossip

Questions to ask yourself:

What’s my manager’s track record with health/personal issues?

Does my company have any existing policies on fertility, IVF, pregnancy loss or carers’ leave?

Would knowing give my manager more capacity to protect me, or just more power over me?

If your gut says, “This person will use this against me,” protect yourself and stay minimal.

Step 3: If You Do Decide to Tell Your Manager — Use a Clean Script

You don’t have to provide medical essays.

Here are a few options you can adapt.

Short, Minimal Disclosure

“I wanted to let you know I’m undergoing a time-sensitive medical treatment over the next few months. It will involve early-morning and occasional short-notice appointments. I’m still committed to my role and happy to plan proactively so work continues smoothly, but I may need some flexibility around start times and occasional short absences.”

If they press for detail and you’re not ready:

“It’s a reproductive health issue and I’d prefer to keep the specifics private, but I wanted you to understand why there are extra appointments.”

Slightly More Specific (Naming Fertility Treatment)

“I’m going through fertility treatment (IVF/egg freezing) over the next few months. That means early scans and blood tests that are often scheduled with little notice, plus a couple of procedure days where I’ll need time off. I’d like to work with you to plan around key dates and make sure our priorities are covered.”

If they respond well, you can build from there. If they don’t, you’ve still kept details relatively contained.

Step 4: Plan Around “Known Unknowns”

Treatment has unpredictable parts, but some patterns are predictable enough to plan around.

1. Map Critical Work Periods vs Likely Treatment Windows

• Busy season, product launches, exams, board meetings, big pitches

• Approximate stimulation and procedure windows for your cycles

See where they overlap and ask:

“Can I choose a cycle start date that avoids the worst clash?”

“Can we schedule the largest deliverables outside my most intense treatment weeks?”

Sometimes the answer will be no. But sometimes small shifts make a big difference.

2. Build Backup Plans for “What If” Days

For key responsibilities, identify:

• Who can step in if you’re unexpectedly out for a day?

• What absolutely must not fail (client meeting, exam, deadline)?

• What can be delayed, delegated or dropped?

Write this down and share it with your manager if you’ve disclosed. Don’t assume they’ll figure it out on the day.

Step 5: Protect Your Mental Health While You’re Still at Your Desk

IVF and egg freezing are not just logistics. They’re loaded with hope, fear, grief and hormones.

Practical boundaries that help:

1. Decide Where You’ll Read Results

If your clinic delivers results by phone, portal or email:

• Choose whether you want to see them at your desk, in a bathroom, at home, or parked in your car.

• If results are likely mid-workday, consider stepping out for 10–15 minutes when you know they’re coming.

You’re allowed to protect yourself from falling apart in open-plan.

2. Pre-Plan Your Exit Strategy for Bad-News Days

Ask yourself:

“If this cycle fails, what’s the bare minimum I have to do today at work?”

“Can I give myself permission to take sick leave or log off early?”

You do not owe your employer your best performance on the day your IVF cycle collapses or you get a devastating call.

3. Limit Fertility Content During Work Hours

Constantly scrolling fertility forums and negative test videos between tasks won’t help your nervous system.

You can:

• Mute or hide certain hashtags during work hours

• Set a rule like “I only look at fertility stuff at lunch / after work”

• Use app blockers if you need hard boundaries

Not because you don’t care — but because you do, and you need mental bandwidth to function.

Step 6: Handling Comments, Curiosity and Boundary Crossers

If you’ve disclosed, some colleagues will be kind, some neutral, and some… clumsy.

You’re allowed to set boundaries.

Polite but Firm Responses

If someone asks for details you don’t want to share:

“It’s a bit personal for me to go into, but I appreciate your support.”

If someone makes a minimising joke (“Must be nice taking all that time off”)

“It’s actually pretty intense medical treatment, not time off. I’m doing my best to keep work on track as well.”

If people keep asking, “Any news?”

“I’ll share if and when I’m ready. For now I’d rather keep it off the office radar.”

You don’t owe anyone ongoing updates just because you disclosed once.

Step 7: Watch for Burnout and Know Your Red Lines

Signs you’re burning out:

• Crying before or after work most days

• Dreading both work and appointments

• Making frequent mistakes because you’re emotionally and physically depleted

• Feeling resentful and trapped, like there’s no oxygen in either part of your life

If this is you, something has to give — temporarily or permanently.

Possible levers (depending on your situation):

• Short-term leave (sick, personal, unpaid, or fertility-specific if your employer offers it)

• Reducing hours for a set period

• Requesting a temporary role adjustment

• In some cases, seriously assessing whether this workplace is compatible with your long-term health and family goals

None of these options are easy. But your body is not a machine that can indefinitely absorb two full-time jobs (work + fertility treatment) without consequences.

How Sistapedia Fits In: Work + Fertility Is a System Problem, Not Just a You Problem

Trying to do IVF or egg freezing in a non-fertility-friendly workplace is exactly the kind of “quiet crisis” Sistapedia® exists to surface.

We’re building the world’s first AI-verified marketplace and social platform focused entirely on women’s reproductive health and reality:

• Fertility, IVF, egg freezing and donor conception

• Pregnancy, birth and postpartum

• Endometriosis, PCOS, chronic pelvic pain and heavy periods

• Perimenopause, menopause and beyond

For Sistas (You)

On Sistatedia, you can:

• Share what it’s really like to do IVF/egg freezing alongside a demanding job

• Read strategies from other women who’ve negotiated flexible work, leave and disclosure

• Access AI-verified content on fertility, workplace health and rights (linked to Crown Verified experts where appropriate)

💖 When you share your story and support other women, you can apply for your free Pink Tick — our verification for Sistas whose lived experience is helping change how workplaces and clinics treat women.

For Employers, HR, Fertility Clinics and Professionals

If you’re a:

• Fertility specialist or clinic manager

• HR lead, people & culture director or workplace wellbeing lead

• Employment lawyer, psychologist, coach or occupational health clinician

…Sistapedia is where you can:

• Create a professional profile

• Share practical guidelines for truly fertility-friendly workplaces

• Apply to become Crown Verified — our verification for qualified experts, services and organisations working in women’s reproductive health and work-life integration.

👑 Crown Verification signals to Sistas that you are committed to evidence-based, ethical support — not box-ticking policies.

Final Thoughts: You’re Not “Too Much” for Needing Both Work and Fertility Support

If you’re holding spreadsheets in one hand and hormone injections in the other, you are not overreacting to feel exhausted.

You’re trying to build a future family in a system that still assumes workers don’t bleed, inject, miscarry or stim.

You deserve:

• A plan

• Some flexibility

• Real support, not just “good luck”

✨ Join Sistapedia, join the global sisterhood, and step into a space where your IVF calendar and your work calendar can finally be talked about in the same conversation — without shame.