Time Off Work During IVF

[Sunshine180]

Hi everyone, can anyone who has been through or going through the IVF process please advise what time they have had off work for the process?

I have been considering asking my consultant if he can provide a sick line for the 3 weeks before the transfer as it sounds like there is a lot of back and forth between the clinic for scans and observation in this time which would be stressful to be in and out of work and I have an already stressful job so I would want to limit stress at this time. Has anyone else did this please?

Hi there

Ive done five egg collections from which I’ve had two fresh transfers and one FET, with another FET upcoming.

You definitely need time and space to attend clinic for a few hours (usually the morning) during the 10-14 days of stimulation, and you’ll need the day of egg collection off for sure. You may also need the day or two before as you may feel v full and a bit sick by then.

The five days after egg collection are generally ok physically but the hardest emotionally seeing as you get important updates on day 1, day 3 and day 5. If you progress to transfer generally the first 3 days are the most important - after that the embryo has either implanted or not.

I think if you like your job, being able to continue working is the ideal scenario to keep your mind off things. This is esp true if you can work from home and set your own diary on crucial days - planning admin rather than having to talk to people. I was able to do this for my recent FET. Transfer was Tues afternoon and I worked from home until then, and then took Wed to Fri as annual leave and returned back to work on Monday, so week two of the 2ww. Although I got a BFN I know it was nothing to do with work and actually had a lovely TWW so this balance was right for me. However if you have a stressful job then some time off may be a good idea. Women get pregnant and maintain pregnancy in very stressful circumstances but the thing with IVF is that whatever the outcome, you want to feel you gave it your very best shot and have no ‘what if’s’.

FYI I think clinics are hesitant to give notes - you usually would need to ask your GP.

Wishing you loads and loads of luck

Hi, thanks so much for your insight that’s really helpful. Fingers crossed for you for your upcoming FET!

did you tell your work why you were taking off then? I could wfh and take mornings off I assume but I don’t really want to tell many people about the treatment until after it which was why I was hoping to just take the whole time off.

Hi, I’ve just joined Mumsnet today as I had a fresh 5 day IVF transfer on Thursday and looking for people going through similar experiences.
I have quite a stressful job and am head of my dept so it was tricky to take too much time off but I took the mornings off for the days of the scans and then as luck would have it, I’d already booked a weeks holiday last week when my egg collection and transfer dates fell.
for the time off work for the scans, I didn’t tell my company what the appts were for, just that I had doctors appointments I had to take time off for. I’m lucky that my work are quite lenient on things like that

@Doughnut89 thank you for sharing your experience! Good luck for your two week wait, hopefully will be good news for you!

can I ask how many appointments you had to go to during the run up to the transfer then please? Was it over about 3/4 weeks?

so I had 4x scans before my egg collection which were over a two week period, my egg collection was on cycle day 13 (I’d recommend taking a full day off for that) and then I had the fresh transfer 5 days later.

@Sunshine180 hi. I also have a stressful job and on my feet all day so I decided I just wanted to focus on ivf and leave work for a bit. I’ve been off work since I started the injections and I’m now almost 6 weeks pregnant. I‘ve felt so relaxed and stress free throughout and I don’t regret taking time off work at all. It was the right decision for me and I often wonder if I would have had a positive outcome if I was still running around stressed at work. Yes appointments can be done around work as you only really need the egg collection and a few days after off and also the transfer day. If you have a stressful job though I would recommend just being off. Work can wait but this is important. The gp have given me a sick note and also the clinic gave me one for 2 weeks after the embryo transfer.

That’s really helpful. Thank you for the information and wish you the best on your journey!

@beehappy19 thank you for this! And big congratulations on your pregnancy! Was your GP happy enough to give you a sick note? We are going with a private clinic so hoping my GP will still be happy to give it. I have a desk job so although not physically straining it can be very high pressure so as you said don’t want to end up stressing about work and then stressing more that it could effect my ivf

@Sunshine180 Thank you and yes the gp was fine giving a sick note. I think they are quite understanding of how emotionally draining ivf can be and I didn’t have a problem getting one. Good luck! Ivf is stressful enough without work too.

Thank you! We haven’t fully started our process yet but have did all the testing and been referred for ivf with icsi to the nhs but due to the wait time we are going to start with a private clinic soon so hoping the whole process won’t last too long

@Sunshine180 At the start we were v selective about who we told, hoping we’d be one cycle and done, but sadly that wasn’t to be for us - we’ve been at it for two years now (total slog!) so as time has gone on we’ve told more people. In terms of work, my managers know, but if we’d only needed a couple of rounds it probably would have been possible to do it using annual leave and a bit of sick leave for vague issues and have kept them in the dark.

I also manage a department and haven’t told my staff. We WFH 4 days a week so I just check emails on the go when I need to and my absence isn’t usually felt if I’m just popping in for a scan. My policy is to put the work phone away as soon as I get off the bus and it doesn’t come out again until I’m back at the bus stop. I walked into a waiting room at our previous clinic once and a patient was on a work zoom while waiting for her appt, really felt for her.

@Eggbert83 yes that’s how we’re feeling at the minute. We have only told our parents and are hoping to keep it that way for the meantime anyway.

yes I get quick stressed about work at times so really want to be able to not think about work while going through another stressful process too! A work zoom call while waiting on an appointment sounds absolutely terrible!

good luck on your journey! Hopefully won’t be too much longer for you

I've had three collections and three transfers. I chose to tell my boss as she is very lovely and supportive which made things easier.

My advice would be-
Egg collection day + day after take as holiday.

For me the most important time for me to relax was post transfer.

I took a week of holiday after each transfer.

Scans at my clinic were always morning and they did their best to get me in first thing and then I went into work and worked through my lunch hour or stayed a bit later.

Personally I would save up as much time as possible for after Transfer.

We also have a fertility policy which ensures you're given time off for ivf appointments