Women who mostly work the night shift or do heavy lifting have a higher risk of infertility. A new study has revealed working hours and the nature of the job can potentially impact a woman's chances of getting pregnant.
The study, which has been published in the Occupational & Environmental Medicine journal, looked into data of 500 women who were patients at a fertility clinic in Massachusetts. Researchers examined the quality of their ovarian reserves or eggs, as well as the nature of their jobs and work schedules against genes and other biomarkers.
Some 40 percent of the women confirmed they have physically demanding jobs that require regular heavy lifting or worked the night shift or rotating hours. Experts learned these women had 8.8 percent lowered chances of having total eggs and 14.1 percent lowered chances of having these eggs mature compared to women who worked regular hours in the daytime or didn't do any heavy lifting.
"Our study suggests that women who are planning pregnancy should be cognizant of the potential negative impacts that non-day shift and heavy lifting could have on their reproductive health," lead study author Lidia Mínguez-Alarcón said, according to Harvard School Of Public Health. The chances of having good eggs also reduce significantly for working women who are overweight, obese and above 37.
Experts, however, have yet to determine the causal effects of night shift work and heavy lifting to infertility. Gynecologist Dr. Karysse Trandem said, however, that it might have something to do with hormones.
"We know that women and men both who are awake over the nighttime hours and don't have a normal sleep pattern have higher levels of cortisol which is a stress hormone," the doctor said, per ABC. "Cortisol could also be released as women are lifting heavy objects or another theory is that women who are lifting heavier objects have more muscle mass and more testosterone produced in their system and they can have a negative effect on fertility as well," she added.
Women's egg production decreases and dies as they age, but factors like smoking, poor health and lifestyle can speed up this process, according to Deccan Chronicle. The study, however, hasn't determined if, apart from the work hazards, these women also had poor habits and lifestyle.
