Koç Healthcare Marks European Fertility Week 2026 with a Call for More Supportive Workplaces

Under this year’s “Double Duty” theme, two doctors highlight the often unseen demands of fertility treatment alongside professional and family responsibilities

ISTANBUL, Nov. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Koç Healthcare is marking European Fertility Week (2–8 November) by drawing attention to the pressures faced by people navigating fertility care while managing their working lives. In support of the 2026 theme, “Double Duty”, the healthcare group is highlighting the need for greater understanding, flexibility and respect for privacy in workplaces, alongside informed and autonomous reproductive choices.

European Fertility Week, an awareness initiative led by Fertility Europe, is focusing this year on the practical and emotional demands of fertility diagnosis and treatment at work. Appointments, blood tests, monitoring and treatment schedules may need to fit around meetings, deadlines and everyday commitments, often without colleagues knowing what someone is experiencing.

Photo via FL Comms: Dr. Gamze Kırpınar and Dr Nilüfer Cimşit Kemahlı

In a joint statement marking the week, Dr Nilüfer Cimşit Kemahlı and Dr Gamze Kırpınar said: “Women are expected to progress in their careers while also becoming mothers at a time considered acceptable by society. At the same time, the responsibility for fertility decisions, caring work and the pressure of the biological clock is still too often placed on women’s shoulders.”

The doctors stressed that fertility care should not become an additional invisible job that people are expected to manage entirely alone. They pointed to practical forms of workplace support, including flexibility for medical appointments, discretion around personal health information and an environment in which employees can ask for help without fear of judgement.

“As two women doctors, we believe that decisions about reproductive health should be guided by scientific knowledge, equal opportunities and free choice — not by pressure, guilt or social expectations,” Dr Kemahlı and Dr Kırpınar said in their joint statement. “Real reproductive freedom is possible only when women can decide whether to have children, and when, without being constrained by social pressure, inequality or prescribed roles.”

The “Double Duty” message also recognises that fertility treatment extends beyond time spent in a clinic. A person may attend a morning appointment, receive difficult news and still be expected to deliver a presentation that afternoon. Greater awareness can help organisations respond to these situations with empathy while preserving each employee’s right to confidentiality.

The two doctors added: “Building a world in which women are not required to live according to other people’s expectations, but can shape their own lives freely, is a responsibility we all share.”

Koç Healthcare’s message for European Fertility Week is that support should not depend on employees disclosing more than they wish to. Flexible arrangements, access to appointments and non-judgemental conversations can help make fertility-aware workplaces a practical reality.

About Koç Healthcare

Koç Healthcare is a healthcare ecosystem in Türkiye bringing together hospitals, clinical research, digital health, innovation and education. Its network includes American Hospital and Koç University Hospital, among other healthcare institutions. For more information, visit https://kochealthcare.org/.

About European Fertility Week

European Fertility Week is an initiative of Fertility Europe. The 2026 theme, “Double Duty”, focuses on fertility and working life and the importance of supportive, privacy-conscious workplaces. For more information, visit https://fertilityeurope.eu/.

Media contact
FL Communications
asset@flcommunications.co.uk

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8a0154ab-2233-4dcc-91a5-f08d1c5130b3

Dr Gamze Kırpınar ve Dr Nilüfer Cimşit

In a joint statement marking the week, Dr Nilüfer Cimşit Kemahlı and Dr Gamze Kırpınar said: “Women are expected to progress in their careers while also becoming mothers at a time considered acceptable by society. At the same time, the responsibility for fertility decisions, caring work and the pressure of the biological clock is still too often placed on women’s shoulders.”