The most important thing you can start taking right now is folic acid, at 400 micrograms daily, at least one month before you try to conceive. Beyond that single non-negotiable supplement, several other nutrients, lifestyle adjustments, and (when needed) prescription medications can meaningfully improve your chances of getting pregnant. What helps most depends on whether you’re just starting out, dealing with irregular cycles, or facing a specific diagnosis like PCOS.
Folic Acid: The One Supplement Everyone Needs
Folic acid is a B vitamin that prevents neural tube defects in early pregnancy, often before you even know you’re pregnant. The CDC recommends 400 mcg daily for all women capable of becoming pregnant, and you should start at least one month before trying to conceive. Most prenatal vitamins contain this amount, so switching to a prenatal early is an easy way to cover it.
If you’ve had a previous pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect, the recommendation jumps to 4,000 mcg daily, starting one month before conception and continuing through the first three months. That’s a prescription-level dose, so talk to your provider about it.
Prenatal Vitamins and Key Nutrients
A good prenatal vitamin acts as your nutritional safety net. Look for one that includes folic acid, iron, iodine, and vitamin D. Beyond those basics, a few nutrients deserve extra attention when you’re trying to conceive.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency, defined as blood levels below 20 ng/mL, has been shown to negatively affect clinical pregnancy rates. Many people are deficient without knowing it, especially if you live in a northern climate or spend most of your time indoors. A simple blood test can check your level, and most prenatal vitamins contain 400 to 1,000 IU. Your provider can recommend a higher dose if your levels are low.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Women of childbearing age should get at least 250 mg daily of combined DHA and EPA, the two main omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. These support healthy cell development and are critical during early pregnancy. Fatty fish like salmon is the best dietary source, but a fish oil or algae-based supplement works if you don’t eat seafood regularly.
Vitamin A: Watch the Upper Limit
Vitamin A is important for reproductive health, but too much of the preformed type (retinol, found in liver and some supplements) can harm a developing baby. The tolerable upper limit for women of childbearing age is 3,000 mcg per day, and some experts recommend staying below 1,500 mcg. Beta-carotene from fruits and vegetables is safe because your body only converts what it needs. Check your prenatal label to make sure the vitamin A comes mostly from beta-carotene rather than retinol.
Supplements for Irregular Cycles and PCOS
If you have polycystic ovary syndrome or irregular ovulation, a supplement called myo-inositol may help restore regular cycles. It improves how your body uses insulin, which in turn helps trigger ovulation. The commonly recommended dose is 4 grams of myo-inositol daily, often combined with 100 mg of d-chiro-inositol in a 40:1 ratio. This specific combination has the strongest clinical evidence for restoring ovulation in women with PCOS.
Myo-inositol is available over the counter and is generally well tolerated. It’s not a magic fix, but for women whose main barrier to pregnancy is irregular or absent ovulation due to PCOS, it can be a reasonable first step before moving to prescription options.
Prescription Medications That Induce Ovulation
When supplements and lifestyle changes aren’t enough, fertility medications can stimulate your ovaries to release eggs. The two most commonly prescribed are letrozole and clomiphene citrate, both taken as pills for five days early in your menstrual cycle.
Both medications produce similar ovulation rates, around 61 to 63 percent per cycle. But letrozole appears to result in higher pregnancy rates. In one study comparing the two in women with PCOS, clinical pregnancy rates were 25.6 percent per cycle with letrozole versus 13.3 percent with clomiphene. Ongoing pregnancy rates followed the same pattern: 23.3 percent versus 11.1 percent. For this reason, letrozole has become the preferred first-line medication for ovulation induction in many fertility clinics, particularly for women with PCOS.
These medications require monitoring with ultrasound and sometimes blood work, so they’re prescribed and managed by your OB-GYN or a reproductive endocrinologist.
What Your Partner Can Take
Fertility is a two-person equation. Male factor issues contribute to roughly half of all couples struggling to conceive, and sperm quality responds to nutritional support. The nutrients with the most evidence for improving sperm count, motility, or shape include:
- Zinc (paired with a small amount of copper to prevent depletion)
- Coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant that protects sperm from damage
- L-carnitine, which fuels sperm motility
- Selenium and vitamin E, both antioxidants linked to improved sperm parameters
- Vitamin B12, which supports sperm production
Many “male fertility” supplements bundle these ingredients together. Your partner doesn’t need to take every nutrient on this list separately. A men’s fertility multivitamin plus a standalone CoQ10 supplement covers most of the bases. Sperm take about three months to mature, so he should start supplementing at least that far ahead of when you want to conceive.
Lifestyle Changes That Make a Difference
No supplement can overcome the basics. A few changes have outsized effects on fertility for both partners.
Maintaining a healthy weight matters more than most people realize. Being significantly underweight or overweight disrupts hormone signaling and can prevent ovulation entirely. Even a modest weight change of 5 to 10 percent in either direction can restore regular cycles for some women.
Alcohol, smoking, and recreational drugs all reduce fertility in both men and women. Smoking in particular accelerates egg loss and damages sperm DNA. Cutting these out is one of the highest-impact things either partner can do. Caffeine in moderate amounts (under about 200 mg per day, or roughly one 12-ounce coffee) appears to be fine for most people trying to conceive.
Tracking your cycle helps you time intercourse to your fertile window, which is the five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself. Ovulation predictor kits, basal body temperature tracking, or apps that combine multiple signals can help you identify this window if your cycles are regular.
How Long to Try Before Getting Help
The timeline for seeking a fertility evaluation depends on your age. Current guidelines from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommend seeing a specialist if you haven’t conceived after:
- One year of regular, unprotected intercourse if you’re 35 or younger
- Six months if you’re 36 to 40
- Immediately if you’re over 40
These timelines assume neither partner has a known condition that could impair fertility. If you already know you have PCOS, endometriosis, blocked tubes, or if your partner has a known sperm issue, there’s no reason to wait the full timeline before getting evaluated. A reproductive endocrinologist can run targeted tests and help you skip straight to the interventions most likely to work for your situation.