Lucy Froese: Someone in Your Organisation Could Be Struggling to Have a Baby, and You’d Have No Idea
Lucy Froese, Fertility and IVF Coach, shared on LinkedIn:
”Someone in your organisation could be struggling to have a baby right now. And you’d have absolutely no idea.
When I was going through IVF, nobody at work knew.
Not my manager. Not my colleagues.
Not because my employer was unsupportive.
But because it felt deeply personal, and I wanted to keep it private.
I arranged appointments around work wherever possible and carried on doing my job.
But that didn’t mean infertility wasn’t affecting me.
The worry about whether treatment would work.
The emotional exhaustion.
The constant uncertainty.
And having to put on a brave face when all I wanted was to disappear for a while.
Research shared by The Fertility Show found that 96% of respondents said infertility had affected their working life.
Yet only around one in five reported having access to a workplace fertility policy or support.
That’s a huge disconnect.
And it raises an important question.
How many employees are struggling in silence because they don’t feel comfortable telling anyone what they’re going through?
For employers, having a fertility policy is a good start.
But it’s not enough on its own.
Do employees know what support is available?
Do managers understand the emotional and practical impact of infertility, pregnancy loss, and fertility treatment?
And can someone access support without having to share deeply personal information they’re not ready to disclose?
Today is Fertility at Work day of National Fertility Awareness Week, part of this year’s Fertility Unfiltered campaign.
And I hope it encourages more organisations to look beyond simply having a policy.
Because someone can be performing well, meeting deadlines, and turning up every day while privately going through one of the most difficult experiences of their life.
I’ve worked with some of the UK’s leading organisations to raise awareness of infertility, equip managers to better support their teams, and provide confidential one-to-one support to employees navigating fertility challenges.
So here’s my question for HR leaders and employers.
If someone in your organisation was struggling to conceive, going through fertility treatment or experiencing pregnancy loss tomorrow, would they know what support was available?
And would their manager know how to support them?”
Other articles featuring Lucy Froese on Fertility News.
-
Nov 4, 2026, 17:32Lucy Froese: What Male Infertility Can Feel Like
-
Nov 4, 2026, 17:25Diana Kayal: Treating Your Body Without Seeing the Rest of You Is Only Half the Job
-
Nov 4, 2026, 17:20Margaret Cali: Sometimes Grief Simply Sits Beside the Joy
-
Nov 4, 2026, 17:11Hossam Elzeiny: Distinguishing Recurrent IVF Failure from True Recurrent Implantation Failure
-
Nov 4, 2026, 17:00Resa Nabor: Fighting Cancer – A Woman’s Brave Journey
-
Nov 4, 2026, 16:22Hannah Travers: Saying Goodbye to the Reproductive Medicine Research Group at the University of Dundee
-
Nov 4, 2026, 16:17Natalie Sutherland: Sharing My Story in Support of the National Fertility Awareness Week
-
Nov 4, 2026, 16:07Pleased to Welcome Justin Tan to the Advisory Committee – Fertility Friends Foundation
-
Nov 4, 2026, 15:53Cynthia Hudson: Panel at the NYC Premiere of THAW – Parenthood on Ice