diff --git a/sqlx-postgres/src/listener.rs b/sqlx-postgres/src/listener.rs
index 2c6ce758e5..9998a832c7 100644
--- a/sqlx-postgres/src/listener.rs
+++ b/sqlx-postgres/src/listener.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ pub struct PgListener {
     buffer_tx: Option<mpsc::UnboundedSender<Notification>>,
     channels: Vec<String>,
     ignore_close_event: bool,
+    eager_reconnect: bool,
 }
 
 /// An asynchronous notification from Postgres.
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@ impl PgListener {
             buffer_tx: None,
             channels: Vec::new(),
             ignore_close_event: false,
+            eager_reconnect: true,
         })
     }
 
@@ -95,6 +97,19 @@ impl PgListener {
         self.ignore_close_event = val;
     }
 
+    /// Set whether a lost connection in `try_recv()` should be re-established before it returns
+    /// `Ok(None)`, or on the next call to `try_recv()`.
+    ///
+    /// By default, this is `true` and the connection is re-established before returning `Ok(None)`.
+    ///
+    /// If this is set to `false` then notifications will continue to be lost until the next call
+    /// to `try_recv()`. If your recovery logic uses a different database connection then
+    /// notifications that occur after it completes may be lost without any way to tell that they
+    /// have been.
+    pub fn eager_reconnect(&mut self, val: bool) {
+        self.eager_reconnect = val;
+    }
+
     /// Starts listening for notifications on a channel.
     /// The channel name is quoted here to ensure case sensitivity.
     pub async fn listen(&mut self, channel: &str) -> Result<(), Error> {
@@ -214,7 +229,8 @@ impl PgListener {
     /// Receives the next notification available from any of the subscribed channels.
     ///
     /// If the connection to PostgreSQL is lost, `None` is returned, and the connection is
-    /// reconnected on the next call to `try_recv()`.
+    /// reconnected either immediately, or on the next call to `try_recv()`, depending on
+    /// the value of [`eager_reconnect`].
     ///
     /// # Example
     ///
@@ -234,6 +250,8 @@ impl PgListener {
     /// # Result::<(), sqlx::Error>::Ok(())
     /// # }).unwrap();
     /// ```
+    ///
+    /// [`eager_reconnect`]: PgListener::eager_reconnect
     pub async fn try_recv(&mut self) -> Result<Option<PgNotification>, Error> {
         // Flush the buffer first, if anything
         // This would only fill up if this listener is used as a connection
@@ -270,6 +288,10 @@ impl PgListener {
                         conn.close_on_drop();
                     }
 
+                    if self.eager_reconnect {
+                        self.connect_if_needed().await?;
+                    }
+
                     // lost connection
                     return Ok(None);
                 }