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Infertility

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Lack of mat leave left me burnt out at work

2 replies

BoPeepNoSheep · 28/11/2025 23:48

I am currently feeling very burnt out at work. I don’t think it’s because my mental health is bad due to infertility. But a secondary issue linked to the infertility is that every woman my age has had a brain change up from mat leave, I’m in no way saying mat leave is a holiday, but it’s for some people some times a ‘change is as good as a rest’ scenario, plus unlike work which you often have to force yourself to care about, most people are heavily invested in the success of the life they’ve just birthed! Anyway, I feel like I’m disadvantaged because I’ve worked non stop for the last 18 years. Ok I had one break 16 years ago in my ‘year out’. How to make this right? How to get a break from work that isn’t an unpaid leave, a sick leave, or using up annual leave all at once? This should be available to infertile women.

OP posts:
Moosey898 · 29/11/2025 12:03

Unfortunately there isn't any provisions in law for infertility - you would need to be signed off on sick leave if you wanted to take a period of time off, unless you've been there long enough and your company offers a sabbatical or similar. I'm sorry you're going through this, it's a really hard thing to manage whilst the world expects you to act like normal. I know the mental exhaustion well.

SarahAndQuack · 29/11/2025 17:59

Sorry, but I have absolutely no patience for this.

It's horrible dealing with infertility and it is rotten that there's not better support around it, especially if you've experienced repeated losses or repeated cycles of fertility treatment, which are horribly gruelling.

But talking about that in comparison to maternity leave? That's just absurd.

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