A decline in fertility among women has been linked to shift work and physically demanding jobs, a new study has found.
Working outside normal office hours or heavy lifting could lower a woman's ability to conceive, say researchers.
Their study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, examined 473 women attending one fertility clinic.
US researchers tested the women's ovarian reserve - the number of remaining eggs - and their levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH).
Among 313 of the women who had completed at least one cycle of IVF, the researchers also examined the number of mature eggs that were able to develop into a healthy embryo.
The women were also asked about their work shift patterns and how much physical exertion was required to do their job.
Nine in 10 worked normal office hours and 22% said their jobs were moderately to very physically demanding, while some 40% of women reported lifting or moving heavy objects at work.
Researchers found that type of workload did not seem to make any difference to FSH levels.
However, women with physically demanding jobs had a lower reserve of eggs than those whose work did not require regular heavy lifting.
Among women going through IVF, those with physically demanding jobs had a lower total reserve of eggs and fewer mature eggs.
The differences were even greater among women working either evening, night or rotating shift patterns.
These women had fewer mature eggs than those working normal hours.
The authors warned that the study is observational, so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect.
They also said their findings were drawn from women attending a fertility clinic, so may not apply to those trying to conceive naturally.
Professor Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said: "In this interesting study, an association has been shown between physically demanding jobs and lower potential fertility.
"It is difficult to hypothesise a mechanism by which a physically demanding job may have a negative effect on ovarian reserve, as the number of eggs (oocytes) is determined at birth and lost progressively throughout life, with smoking having been shown to be the main toxin that significantly diminishes ovarian reserve.
"It is important to note that there was no difference in smoking status between the groups.
"I wonder therefore if there may have been maternal influences on the women studied that could have effected their ovarian reserve at birth, for example maternal smoking and nutrition, which might then have some bearing on the future reproductive health of their daughters," he added.
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