How your work habits affect your fertility

A woman’s reproductive timeline is complex – many factors can affect her ability to conceive, and the window of time in which she is capable of doing this. These include age, use of certain substances such as alcohol and caffeine, and the types of food that make up her diet. One culprit that many people often overlook is a woman’s job, but consultant gynaecologist Dr Robyn Khemlani said this part of her lifestyle can significantly impact a woman’s fertility.Women whose jobs require heavy-liftingWomen with shift jobsCaffeine abuse

These include:

Women who are employed in jobs that require them to lift heavy weights constantly, according to one Harvard study, tend to have a much a faster decline in their fertility.

“This is because this group of women tends to have a diminished ovarian reserve — this is the number of eggs and follicle-stimulating hormones that they have, which therefore reduces their chances of getting pregnant,” Dr Khemlani said. These findings have clinical implications, as women with fewer mature oocytes (a cell in an ovary which may undergo meiotic division to form an ovum) would have fewer eggs which are capable of developing into healthy embryos. The exact cause of how heavy lifting could affect a woman’s egg production and egg quality is not known.

Women with jobs that involve shifts also tend to have a much more difficult time becoming pregnant than other women who worked in jobs with regular work hours. Like women who have jobs that require a lot of heavy lifting, Dr Khemlani said these women, especially those who worked at night, had fewer mature eggs and tended to have a much slower ovarian response. Researchers believe that the link between shift work and egg quality could have to do with circadian rhythm disruption (continuous or occasional disruption of sleep patterns).

Many women rely on a few cups of caffeine to get them through the day. And while it might give you a much-needed energy boost when you have work to complete, Dr Khemlani said that it could also be interfering with your fertility.

Environmental and occupational exposuresWork foodStressHigh heeled shoes

“Excessive caffeine consumption will not only affect your fertility, but it also increases your chances of having a miscarriage. So you may want to monitor your intake, limiting your consumption to about two eight-ounce cups per day,” Dr Khemlani advised.

The place that you work can also affect your fertility. For example, if there are environmental pollutants such as pesticides and other toxins then this could affect your fertility. Toxic chemicals can wreak havoc on a woman’s reproductive system.

Sometimes because of the long hours spent at work, when it comes to fuelling our bodies we often go for convenience. This means workplace food, and this often means junk food.

 “Having foods that are packed with sugars and unsaturated fat and salt can alter one’s metabolism. Also, fatty foods are believed to negatively affect the proper function of the ovaries, making conception difficult,” Dr Khemlani advised.

Work is often associated with stress, and other mental disorders like anxiety and depression can adversely affect your ability to conceive.

“Whether it’s the stress of the workload, the climate of the office, or the traffic on the road, stress can affect your ovulation. We see how sometimes when stress may cause a delay in ovulation or prevent ovulation altogether. Also, stress hormones can hurt fertility,” Dr Khemlani explained.        

Many women wear stilettos to work – they cause heads to turn and boost our confidence. Unfortunately, while they may look cute, health experts say that they could harm your baby-making chances.

“Wearing high heeled shoes can make a woman develop what is described as an unnatural posture which reduces a woman’s chance of getting pregnant. The twisted posture or the imbalance displaces the uterus from its physiological anteverted or retroverted position and therefore causes pain during menstruation and intercourse.

Not only does the pelvis tilt forward, but other organs in the abdomen also spill forward causing the organs to compress over time. If not attended to it may lead to menstrual dysfunction,” Dr Khemlani said. This is based on studies conducted with a heel size of over five inches.