My Favorite Female Fertility Supplement Guide

If you’ve read my post on fertility supplements, you know I’m not a huge fan of taking a ton. And, you also know I can get rather long-winded when it comes to talking about supplements for infertility.

I am lucky that I got pregnant naturally, despite my Diminished Ovarian Reserve, High FSH, low AMH, endometriosis, repeated miscarriages, and MTHFR mutation. I did 79 things to make it happen (no, really), but I really didn’t take that many supplements.

In general, my guidance is this- talk with your doctor, hire a naturopath, seek out a fertility-specialist acupuncturist, and do a ton of research. And then, in consultation with those wise healers, make your final supplement list.

I am often asked which supplements *I* took and which brands I recommend. Here’s the deal- what I would take now is very different than what I took in 2014- the market has changed dramatically in five years, with cleaner, more potent options. But, some things would be exactly the same.

Here is my condensed (as much as I am able to condense anything, haha), guide to my favorite fertility supplements.

What supplements should I take to increase fertility?

Okay, definitely take the time to pop over to my lengthy explanation of why you shouldn’t overdo it with fertility supplements to conceive.

Done?

Okay, let’s get down to business first, on what supplements I took (and still take!) when trying to conceive and fighting infertility. I’ve developed favorites over the years and have done a lot of research into claims companies make. These are my favorites, and my alternate favorites.

*This post contains affiliate links which at no cost to you provide me with some small change to help keep this blog running! If you decide to buy something I recommend, please consider clicking through one of my links to help support this blog and my family!  Thank you!

Women’s Fertility Supplements

The Best Prenatals for Fertility (and Pregnancy!)

Remember that taking a prenatal with natural food based folate or a quality methylfolate is vital, especially for those of us with an MTHFR mutation. Synthetic folic acid is hard to process, and can become quite problematic if it builds up in the body. I avoid all synthetic folic acid, including foods like Nutritional Yeast that add it in.

• Garden of Life myKind Organics 3 a day- The only prenatal from Garden of Life that has enough of the required nutrients, has natural folate actually sourced from food, and is totally organic. This company replied to my inquires and said that their folate is actually from lemon peel. This is what I have been taking since I found out MegaFood lied about the folate in their prenatals. <—What I take
• MegaFood Baby and Me 2 has the high quality folate. The other prenatal does not. I am still cross with this brand as they had misleading labels that led me to take folic acid when pregnant with my son. But, technically, there is nothing wrong with this prenatal. Note, that their “food based” means simply the synthetic vitamins are packaged with food, not that they are derived from food. A good thing about MegaFood is that they test their supplements for pesticides and heavy metals.
• Mama Bird AM/PM Prenatal- Good amounts of vitamins, good methylfolate. Don’t be afraid of the Red Raspberry they’ve thrown in there!
• Thorne Basic Prenatal– The MTHFR-mutation folks rave about this prenatal, but I worry about the super high doses of B12. Talk with your doctor if you choose this one, please. You might want to stop when you become pregnant.
• Pink Stork Prenatal– Good methylfolate, packaged with food, can be found in Target and CVS!

Fertility Supplement Bundles

I usually choose to buy all my supplements separate, but there are some good, clinical-grade fertility supplements that bundle many together to make your supplements more affordable and emotionally manageable. You would take these INSTEAD of a prenatal.

• FH Pro for Women– Designed to support ovarian function and egg quality, it includes safe folate, myo-inositol, CoQ10, Alpha Lipoic ACid, Choline, D-Chiro-Inositol, Grape Seed Extract, trans-Reversatrol, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, Melatonin, and Benfotiamine. Whew! Given the Melatonin I wouldn’t take this if trying naturally, but only with IVF or a medicated cycle. <—What I would take if I was doing medicated cycles
• FertilAid– A full vitamin + Vitex, Red Clover, PABA, Eleutherococcus, and Ginko Biloba. Like the one above only with less items and more suitable for natural conception because of no melatonin.
• Pink Stork Fertility– Designed to boost general fertility, it includes most of your usual vitamins plus Vitex, CoQ10, Inositol, Choline, PABA, Shatavari, Stinging Nettle Leaf, Ashwagandha, and Black pepper extract. Watch out for high doses of Vitamin B – stop if you get pregnant.

Best CoQ10 For Fertility

Y’all know I’m passionate about CoQ10. Here’s the deal- this is the one fertility supplement that all doctors love and that benefits everyone trying to conceive. It is the most beneficial for women over 35 or those struggling with diminished ovarian reserve, High FSH, low AMH, or egg health related issues like repeated pregnancy loss.

• Bio-Quinone Gold– Hands down my favorite, and research suggests it may be the most bioavailable on the market. It is 100% what I take, hubby takes, and I give to my family. Contains trace amounts of soy which the company says their manufacturing process removes all protein and estrogenic effects, so there should be no concerns. Not vegan. <—What I take.
• Dr. Mercola Ubiquinol– A good quality Kaneka Ubiquinol in 100mg capsules. Not vegan. Clean formulation.
• Jarrow Kaneka Ubiquinol– An example of a good quality Kaneka Ubiquinol. Not vegan. Soy free.
• Bluebonnet CoQ10– Vegetarian, and Soy-Free Kaneka Ubiquinol.
• Pure Encapsulations CoQ10– Cleanest pills around- no soy, vegan, no additives, I don’t know how they turn this stuff into pills. BUT, you’re losing out with a less bioavailable Ubiquinone so you’ll have to take a bunch more pills.

The Best Probiotic for Fertiltiy

Gut health is closely linked to overall health and fertility, and a probiotic is the right place to start to support your good bacteria in your gut!

I use the Daily Synbiotic from Seed, and I think it is the best probiotic on the planet. It has 24 human-sourced bacteria strains, each of which is clinically researched in human trials and shown to provide benefits in one of these areas: digestive health,  gut immune function, heart health, skin health, reproductive health, gut barrier integrity, and oxidative stress (hello egg health!). And there is a strain that boosts folate production. And it is shipped in a glass container protected by compostable packaging.  Get 15% off with code TOMAKEAMOMMY.

I have an ongoing affiliate relationship with Seed because I think they are amazing. Did you know they are also developing probiotics to save the bees, bacteria to decompose plastic, and developing the world’s largest POOP database to train Artificial Intelligence to change the future of gut health. Now, that is a company I can stand behind.

Omega-3 for Fertiltiy

• Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega– A good solid fish oil supplement with Omega 3s and DHA. Hubby can take this one too!
• Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA– A fish oil supplement that is specifically tailored to the needs of pregnancy. 
• Algae-based Omega 3/DHA – This is actually what I take because I have a shellfish allergy and need an algae-based product for safety. Also good for vegans! <- What I take
• Dr. Mercola Krill Oil– A good, clean fish oil from Krill with 55mg DHA.
• Fermented Cod liver Oil- this Blue Ice version by Green Pasture is what I had my husband taking while we tried to conceive, and what I would have taken. Taking cod liver oil is controversial because of high levels of Vitamin A, but if I didn’t have allergy concerns it would have been my personal choice.
• Rosita’s Codliver Oil– With 605mg of DHA, it is hard to beat the nutritional pack of Rosita’s. Make sure to talk to your doctor about the Vitamin A levels, especially when you conceive.

All the Other Fertility Supplements

I’m not saying take all of these, I certainly didn’t! I’m just saying, if you and your health care practitioners agree you should take them, these are my favorite brands :-).

• Resveratrol- Shown to boost egg health and development, especially in older women. I take this one from Perfect Supplements because they do extensive testing for pesticides and heavy metals- something that is hard to find in the supplement world! However, there is some concern with Resveratrol in the luteal phase and in pregnancy, so to be extra safe, take this just before ovulation or in prepping for egg retrieval.
• Vitamin D- Many women need this- get tested first to see if your levels are low! Some favorite options: Vitamin Code Raw D3 5,000 IU vegan; Vitamin Code Raw D3 2,500 IU vegan; Doctor’s Best D3 2500IU sourced from Lichen (soy-free, and vegan), Rx Vitamins Liqui-D3 liquid drops skip the capsule altogether, Lanolin based (ethically sourced)
• Vitamin E– Solgar 200mg with Mixed Tocopherol (ALWAYS GET MIXED!!!!) <<–I took this in my lemon drink
• Vitamin C– Catie’s Whole Food Vitamin C Plus– is a legitimate food-based Vitamin C supplement with no ascorbic acid! Baobab is a nice food based source of Vitamin C and is a rich antioxident- you can add its powder to your smoothie!
• Folate– Pure Encapsulations Folate 1000, clean formula, hypoallergenic & vegan as Metafolin L-5-MTHF
• Wheatgrass– I am now using Terrasoul Organic Wheatgrass Juice Powder because they shared their heavy metal testing with me!. <<– I use this!
• Spirulina– I use Perfect Supplements Spirulina because it is the most tested Spirulina on the planet and they shared their testing results with me! <<– I use this!
• Melatonin– Only for medicated cycles, not natural conception. Pure Encapsulations, cleanest, allergy free option.
• Magnesium Lotion– Ancient Minerals, <<– I use this! (see my full skincare routine here)
• Magnesium Supplement– Magnesium is hard to process when you take it, so I would mix up baths with magnesium salts, the lotion above, and Pure Calm as a tea every few days at night. — I use this!
• Alpha-Lipoic Acid– Doctor’s Best
• N-acetylcysteine (NAC)- Life Extension 600mg
• Myo-Inositol– By Fairhaven Health
• DHEA– Pure Encapsulations (I’m sure you know, but don’t take without chatting with doctor!!)
• FertilCM– Specifically made by Fairhaven Health to boost cervical mucus, includes Vitamin C, Calcium, L-Arginine, NAC, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Grape Seed Extract.
• OvaBoost– Made for IVF patients to boost egg health, includes Vitamin E, Folate, Myo-Inositol, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Grapeseed Extract, CoQ10, and Melatonin.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, or suggest that these are the only good ones out there- I don’t mean that at all. I just wanted an easy post to reference people to when they have questions.