NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ¿ For women undergoing fertility treatment, the decision over whether to tell their employer seems to have little effect on their general stress levels, a study suggests.

Researchers found that among 267 women undergoing treatment at the same fertility clinic, stress levels seemed to be unrelated to a woman's choice to tell her boss and co-workers about the treatment.

Going into the study, the researchers had hypothesised that such disclosure might help ease stress for some women. Fertility treatment is time-consuming and bound to require taking time off from work; keeping the reason for work absences secret might, in theory, generate added anxiety for some women.

On the flip side, some women might be stressed by having to tell an employer about such a personal matter.