Supporting Employees Through Fertility Treatment: Why the Mental Load Matters

Infertility doesn’t just affect someone’s personal life - it has a profound, often invisible impact on every aspect of their day, including their time at work.

For employees preparing for or going through fertility treatment like IVF, the mental and emotional load can be overwhelming. They might be:

• Keeping up with complex medication schedules
• Attending regular, often last-minute, clinic appointments
• Coping with the physical toll of treatment and side effects
• Managing the emotional strain of hope, anxiety, and uncertainty
• Balancing all of this while trying to stay productive, present, and professional at work

And the truth is, so much of this is carried in silence. Many people feel they have to hide what they’re going through, either because they fear being judged, don’t want to appear unreliable, or simply don’t know how to start the conversation.

This can quickly lead to exhaustion, burnout, and a deep sense of isolation. The emotional load is heavy - and if left unsupported, it can take a toll on both the individual and the wider team.

How Employers Can Make a Difference

As an employer or HR leader, you might feel unsure about how to help, or worried about saying the wrong thing. But offering meaningful support doesn’t have to be complicated.

It starts with understanding that fertility treatment is more than just a series of medical appointments—it’s a full-time emotional and logistical commitment. And from there, it’s about creating space for support, flexibility, and compassion.

One practical way to do this is by offering focused wellbeing tools that help employees feel supported and understood.

A Simple Tool That Makes a Big Difference

The IVF Positivity Planner is one such tool—and it’s something I created after years of personal experience and coaching conversations with people going through treatment.

It’s an award-winning journal designed to reduce the overwhelm of IVF and give people back a sense of calm, clarity and control.

Here’s what’s inside:

• A dedicated treatment section to track appointments, medications and notes – taking some of the load off the mental to-do list
• Practical advice and journaling prompts to help with managing work-life balance during treatment
• Emotional support tools to help with relationships, mindset, and resilience
• Coaching strategies and exercises that build confidence and help reframe unhelpful thoughts
• Gratitude and self-care prompts to help keep mental health in check through the ups and downs

It’s a beautifully practical way to support someone through treatment - whether they’re sharing their journey or not.

Why It Matters

By providing a tool like the IVF Positivity Planner, you’re sending a clear message to your employees:

We see you. We understand that this is hard. And we care.

And that can mean the world to someone who feels like they’re quietly carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

If you’d like to include the IVF Positivity Planner as part of your employee wellbeing offering - either as a resource, a gift, or part of a wider fertility support package - I’d love to chat.

You can reach me at [email protected] or visit sarahbanks.coach for more information.

Let’s make sure no one has to carry this kind of load alone.