Shift work and heavy lifting may make it harder to get pregnant

Conclusion Many factors affect a couple’s ability to get pregnant, and the numbers of mature eggs produced by the woman is one of them. This study seems to have found a link between physically demanding work, shift work, and egg production. However, the study has many limitations. All the women were seeking IVF treatment, so already knew they had a fertility problem. The numbers of mature eggs, used in the study to calculate the women’s potential for fertility, were counted after extraction during IVF treatment. It’s not clear whether these findings would have applied to women releasing eggs naturally (eggs are usually released one at a time), or to women without known fertility problems. The study took place over a long period of time, from 2004 to 2015. Techniques for egg retrieval have improved over this time which may have affected results. Shift work and physically demanding work may be a marker for other lifestyle or health factors not measured in this study. For a start, we don’t know the length of women’s working hours, or their salaries, their household income, financial pressures or other illnesses. All of these could affect women’s health and fertility potential. The study is relatively small. Although more than 500 women were recruited, we only have information about working conditions and egg retrieval - the main result - for 313 women. Of these, 186 said they sometimes or often lifted heavy loads at work, 106 said they did physically demanding work...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pregnancy/child Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news