Any medical treatment, including assisted reproduction treatments, requires a certain amount of organisation before, during and after the process. This may involve planning medication, medical check-ups and follow-up appointments. It is also important to consider in advance whether the treatment may affect your working life, so that any necessary time off can be arranged and everything can be planned before the procedure.
When it comes to fertility treatments, extended sick leave is usually not required. However, it is advisable to plan the key moments of the process and adapt medical recommendations to each patient, the type of work they do and how the treatment progresses. Below, we answer some of the most common questions patients ask when they come to our clinic.
During in vitro fertilisation, the patient needs to attend several medical appointments, including ultrasound scans and blood tests, to assess how the ovaries are responding to hormonal stimulation. These visits are usually short, but they may take place several times over one or two weeks. For this reason, rather than needing sick leave, what is usually required is some flexibility in working hours in order to attend the appointments.
The moment when rest is usually recommended is the day of the egg retrieval. This is a procedure performed under sedation, so patients should not drive or return to work afterwards on the same day. Some patients are able to go back to work the day after the procedure, while others may need an additional 24 to 48 hours if they experience abdominal discomfort, bloating or fatigue.
Embryo transfer is a simple, quick and generally painless procedure. It does not require anaesthesia or hospital admission, and the patient can go home shortly after it is performed. For this reason, under normal circumstances, there is no need to request sick leave solely because of the embryo transfer.
In general, complete bed rest is not recommended after this procedure, as the embryo will not move or be lost as a result of walking, working or carrying out normal daily activities. The uterus is naturally prepared to receive and protect the embryo, and everyday activities do not interfere with this process.
Regarding returning to work, many patients can do so the day after the embryo transfer, provided they feel well and there is no specific medical indication to rest.
The general recommendation is to maintain a calm routine, avoiding intense physical effort, heavy lifting or high-impact activities during the first few days. If the job is office-based or does not involve significant physical exertion, returning to work is usually not a problem. However, if the job involves very long shifts, high levels of stress, intense repetitive movements or physical effort, it may be advisable to adapt the activity or consider taking a few days to rest.
Working after IVF does not, in itself, reduce the chances of pregnancy. The factors that truly influence implantation are: embryo quality, endometrial receptivity, hormonal synchronisation and other medical aspects specific to each case.
In some situations, the medical team may recommend taking additional precautions. This may be the case when there is:
In these cases, recommendations should always be individualised.
After the embryo transfer, the two-week wait begins — the period leading up to the pregnancy test. For many patients, these days are among the most emotionally challenging stages of treatment. Some prefer to continue working because maintaining their routine helps them cope with the wait. Others, however, feel they need to slow down.
There is no single right option for everyone. What matters is being able to distinguish between what the body needs and what fear imposes. Working does not harm implantation, but if anxiety is very intense or the work environment is particularly stressful, it may be reasonable to organise a few lighter days or seek emotional support.
Although it is not usually necessary, there are some cases in which sick leave or relative rest may be recommended. This may occur after egg retrieval if the patient experiences significant discomfort, if there is a risk of ovarian hyperstimulation, if medical complications arise or if the patient’s job involves intense physical effort that cannot be temporarily adapted.
It may also be recommended in patients with specific clinical backgrounds or when the medical team considers that reducing activity may improve the safety of the process, although not necessarily the chances of implantation.
Although assisted reproduction requires a certain degree of planning, in most cases it is compatible with maintaining a relatively normal life. Having clear information, discussing any doubts with the medical team and adapting your pace when necessary can help patients experience the process with greater peace of mind.
Every treatment and every person are different. Therefore, recommendations should always be individualised according to the type of work, medical progress and each patient’s physical and emotional wellbeing.
ESHRE Guideline Group on Ovarian Stimulation.
ESHRE guideline: ovarian stimulation for IVF/ICSI.
European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).
2020;
hoaa009
ESHRE Clinical Guidelines on Ovarian Stimulation in IVF and ICSI Treatments:
https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoaa009
Sofia Gameiro, Jacky Boivin, Elisabeth Dancet, Cécile de Klerk, M. Emery, C. Lewis-Jones.
ESHRE guideline: routine psychosocial care in infertility and medically assisted reproduction—a guide for fertility staff.
European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).
2015;
2476-2485
ESHRE Guide to Routine Psychosocial Care in Infertility and Assisted Reproduction for Fertility Professionals:
https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/30/11/2476/2384614?login=false
Ministerio de la Presidencia, Relaciones con las Cortes e Igualdad.
Resolución de 28 de febrero de 2019, de la Secretaría de Estado de Función Pública.
Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE).
2019;
19974-19981
Official document from the Official State Gazette related to the regulation of permits and work-life balance measures applicable to public employees:
https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2019/03/01/pdfs/BOE-A-2019-2861.pdf
Service-Public.fr.
Une salariée a-t-elle droit à des absences en cas de grossesse ou d’assistance médicale à la procréation ?.
Service-Public.fr / République Française.
2025;
Official information on work leave and permitted absences during pregnancy or assisted reproduction treatments in France:
https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2330
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
IVF treatment.
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
2026;
Official information on employment rights and support for employees performing in vitro fertilization treatments in the United Kingdom:
https://www.acas.org.uk/pregnancy-at-work/ivf-treatment
Privacy Policy
IVF-LIFE, hereby informs you of its privacy policy applied to personal data. The use of the website does not imply that the user must provide any information regarding their identity, and cannot be associated with a specific user by the company. In the event that personal data is provided, this data will be collected and used in accordance with the limitations and rights set out in the aforementioned regulation.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR DATA?
DATA CONTROLLER: IVF SPAIN ALICANTE S.L.U (hereinafter IVF-Life)
CIF: B-54973227
Postal Address: Avenida de Ansaldo, no. 13, 03540, Alicante (Alicante)
Contact with the Data Protection Officer: dpo@ivf-life-group.com
DATA CONTROLLER: Instituto Vasco de Fertilidad (hereinafter IVF-Life)
CIF: B95575874
Postal Address: Avenida de Tolosa, 71-73, 20018 Donostia / San Sebastián (Spain)
Contact with the Data Protection Officer: dpo@ivf-life-group.com
DATA CONTROLLER: IVF Spain Madrid (hereinafter IVF-Life)
CIF: B 85138113
Postal Address: C/ de Manuel de Falla, 6-8, 28036 Madrid (Spain)
Contact with the Data Protection Officer: dpo@ivf-life-group.com
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- Connection, geolocation and navigation data.
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The use of certain services or requests addressed to IVF-LIFE are subject to the prior completion of the corresponding form. All the information provided by the User through the forms on the Portal for the above purposes or any other must be truthful.
To this end, the User guarantees the authenticity of all the data provided and will keep the information provided to IVF-LIFE perfectly up to date so that it corresponds at all times to the User's real situation. In any case, the User will be solely responsible for any false or inaccurate statements made and for any damage caused to IVF-LIFE or third parties because of the information provided.
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Users who provide personal data of other natural persons are obliged to comply, in relation to said data, with all obligations deriving from the data protection regulations in force, and in particular the duty to inform and obtain the consent of the owner of the personal data.
When we request your personal data to provide access to certain website functionalities, we will mark the required fields to ensure the service can be delivered.
Please note that if you choose not to provide us with this data, you may not be able to complete your registration as a user or you may not be able to enjoy those services or functionalities.
For the processing of data, IVF-LIFE adopts the security levels required by current European and national legislation on the Protection of Personal Data. Notwithstanding the above, technical security in a medium such as the Internet is not impregnable and there may be leaks due to the malicious actions of third parties.
Our services are aimed at people of legal age, in the event that some of our services are specifically aimed at minors, IVF-LIFE will request the consent of parents or guardians for the collection of personal data or, where appropriate, for the automated processing of data as set out in current legislation. If the User is a minor, they are required to have the prior consent of their parents or guardians before proceeding to the inclusion of their personal data in the forms on the Website.
Initially, your personal data are provided directly by you, but in certain cases they may originate from centres, referring doctors and public health systems with which there is collaboration.
FOR WHAT PURPOSES DO WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
Depending on how you interact with our website, we will process your personal data for the following purposes:
To deal with requests or requests that you make through the different means incorporated into our website.
We only process the personal data that is strictly necessary to manage or resolve your request or application.
For marketing purposes
To the extent that you subscribe to our newsletter, your personal data will be used for the periodic sending of company newsletters.
You should remember that you can unsubscribe from the newsletter, at any time and free of charge, by contacting us via the e-mail address of the data controller or by following the instructions that we will provide you with in each of our communications.
For the management of social networks
If you follow us or contact us through the different social networks in which we are present, we will process the data that you provide to us through these for the sole purpose of responding to your messages or comments and managing our contact list.
Usability and quality analysis to improve our services (cookies).
If you access our platform, we inform you that we will process your browsing data for analytical and statistical purposes, i.e. to understand how users interact with our platform and thus be able to make improvements to it. Likewise, we sometimes carry out quality actions and surveys aimed at finding out the degree of satisfaction of our customers and users and detecting those areas in which we can improve.
WHAT IS THE LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING YOUR DATA?
The legal basis that allows us to process your personal data also depends on the purpose for which we process them, so we will find different legal bases under the following purposes:
Attention to requests for information.
The legal basis for the processing of your data is the informed consent to respond to queries raised through the website, forms and other means provided, which implies the prior reading and acceptance of these conditions by the interested party.
Marketing
The legitimate basis for processing your data for marketing purposes is the consent you provide.
Social networking
The basis of legitimacy is the informed consent to respond to queries raised through the social network, as well as the time when you follow us and want to be part of our contact list.
Usability and quality analysis (cookies)
User consent to the use of cookies.
HOW LONG WILL WE KEEP YOUR DATA?
Request for information. We will process your data for as long as it is necessary to deal with your request or request and thereafter 1 year.
Marketing
We will process your data until you unsubscribe or cancel your subscription to the newsletter.
Social media
We will process your data for as long as it is necessary to deal with your request and for as long as you are a follower of our profile.
WILL WE SHARE YOUR DATA WITH THIRD PARTIES?
Personal data will not be transferred or communicated to third parties, except: legal obligation, we obtain your express consent, or we understand that there is a legitimate interest on our part, which will be duly communicated to you.
However, we inform you that we are present in the following social networks: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube, to keep our followers informed regarding the company's news and services.
You can access these social networks voluntarily and through the links available on the website itself or by accessing directly and on your own from your browser or installed app.
You should know that this website is not responsible for the use of the data that these social networks may make. However, when these data are generated in the social network and derive from an interaction with our website, we will not be held responsible for the use of such data.
In order to consent to our transfer from this website and the processing of your data, you should carefully read the privacy policy of the social network you wish to access:
Facebook: Facebook Privacy Policy
Instagram: Instagram Privacy Policy
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YouTube: Youtube Privacy Policy
Spotify: Spotify Privacy Policy
In this way, before clicking on the logos of the SS. RR. present on our website, you can inform yourself and make a redirection with prior knowledge of the processing of your data and on a voluntary basis.
Other technological services:
- WhatsApp: WhatsApp Privacy Policy
- Companies of the "IVF LIFE Group" on the legal basis of consent or legitimate interest: Instituto Vasco de Fertilidad S.L.U., with NIF B95575874 and address at Avda Tolosa, 71-73 Donostia (Gipuzkoa), and IVF Spain Madrid S.L., with NIF B85138113 and address at Calle Manuel de Falla, 6-8, 28036 Madrid.
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS WHEN YOU PROVIDE US WITH YOUR DATA?
We undertake to respect the confidentiality of your personal data and to guarantee you the exercise of your rights.
You may exercise them free of charge by sending us an e-mail to our address above, simply by providing proof of identity, the reason for your request and the right you wish to exercise.
If we consider it necessary in order to identify you, we may ask you for a copy of a document proving your identity. In particular, regardless of the purpose or the legal basis on which we process your data, you have the right to:
Ask us for access to the data we hold about you.
Ask us to rectify the data we already hold about you. Please note that by actively providing us with your personal information in any way, you warrant that it is true and accurate and you undertake to notify us of any changes or modifications to it.
Ask us to delete your data to the extent that they are no longer necessary for the purpose for which we need to process them as we have previously informed you, or to the extent that we no longer have the legitimacy to do so.
Ask us to restrict the processing of your data, which means that in certain cases you may ask us to temporarily stop processing the data or to keep it longer than necessary when you may need it. If you have given us your consent to process your data for any purpose, you also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
To receive the personal data concerning you that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable form and to transfer it to another data controller.
Moreover, where the processing of your data is based on our legitimate interest, you also have the right to object to the processing of your data.
Finally, we inform you of your right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority, with the Spanish Data Protection Agency.
CHANGES TO THE PRIVACY POLICY
We may change the information contained in this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we do so, we will notify you by various means through the Platform, or we will notify you at your email address when the change in question is significant to your privacy, so that you can review the changes, assess them and, where appropriate, object to or unsubscribe from any service or functionality.
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