A growing number of IT professionals is facing infertility and other related problems caused by their high-stress lives

Chinmayee Manjunath

Work stress has increased cases of premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, eventually reducing libido in both spouses

He’s pacing nervously outside the operation theatre, where his wife is in labour with their first child. After six years of marriage, this is a trying time for 35-year-old Harish Gowda and his wife, Mythili, 28. A technical consultant with an international firm in Bangalore, Gowda says, “The demands of an it job are very different from any other and sometimes I don’t see my wife for weeks because of projects or deadlines.” This meant a practically non-existent sex life and problems in conception.  

The Gowdas are part of a growing number of it professionals who face infertility, low sex- drive and related problems. According to a study conducted by Dr Kamini Rao of the Bangalore Assisted Conception Centre (bacc), there were 40 ‘it couples’ a week visiting the centre during 2002-2003. “One of three couples that see me in a week has at least one partner working in the it sector, which also includes call centres,” she says.

Stress is a major reason why infertility is a growing problem. And while most modern lifestyles are stressful, it professionals work odd hours and lead relatively sedentary lives, which disrupts the biological clock. “All these add up to problems like menstrual disturbances, low sperm count and a dwindling libido,” says Rao.

“We work according to the time zones of other countries,” says Prakash Reddy, a 30-year-old software engineer. “So if I am involved in a project for an American client, I have to work nights for weeks or months.” His wife, Rohini, a 25-year-old homemaker, is now pregnant for the second time after a previous miscarriage. “Forget being able to plan conception, there are times when we cannot talk,” she says. He reasons that stress, odd hours and a constant deadline pressure have reduced his sex drive. “I just want to have this child,” says Rohini.

Rao observes that this is a common attitude. “There is no attention given to correcting their sex life or looking at their options. Most of them come to me under family ressure to have a child,” she says.

Dr Padmini Prasad, a sexologist and marriage counsellor, says that she has observed this trend among her clients at the Ramamani Hospital in Bangalore. In an average week, nearly 40 percent of her clients are from the it sector. “With their haphazard, rushed lifestyles, they cannot even plan to have sex during ovulation,” she says. Prasad also finds a high incidence of non-consummation of marriages, often due to a lack of time spent together. “I see a lot of cases of premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, eventually reducing libido in both spouses.”

Rao says that if lifestyles were modified, they would not need assisted reproduction, which is also expensive. “If these couples would start counselling and improve their sex lives, infertility would not be a problem,” adds Prasad.

Mahesh and Malati Chandra are both software engineers in Bangalore. It took them over a year to consummate their marriage. “We were working different shifts and hardly saw one another. And sometimes the stress and pressure are so high that we’re worn out,” says Mahesh. Malati adds, “Even if we are home, laptops keep us connected and there are conference calls in the middle of the night.” They are currently looking at options of assisted reproduction. 

In the air-conditioned waiting rooms of high-end fertility clinics, it’s a common sight to see couples, name tags around their necks, talking over the phone, working on laptops or, even, trading industry gossip. Almost as if resorting to these expensive treatments has become an accepted consequence of their well-paying, high-status jobs. Almost as if it were a part of the game.

Names of the couples have been changed to protect identities