Can Fertility Supplements Help You Conceive?

If you’re trying to become pregnant, you’ve probably noticed by now the overwhelming amount of products, drugs, and supplements out there that claim to help. Whether you’ve struggled with fertility before or you’re just trying to have a baby for the first time, doing your research is always a step in the right direction.

And while we can’t speak to other products or drugs, fertility supplements for women are a great place to start as you embark on your pregnancy journey. 

That being said, it’s not always as simple as just picking up a bottle of vitamins next time you’re at the store. It’s important to understand the vitamins and minerals that fertility supplements for women typically contain and how each one contributes in the process of becoming pregnant and delivering a healthy baby.

Here’s a quick look into fertility supplements, what they are, and how they might help you conceive. 

What are Fertility Supplements for Women? 

Fertility supplements for women are natural nutritional supplements that aim to help a woman conceive. They typically contain natural hormones, antioxidants, and vitamins. Fertility supplements are different from prenatal vitamins but the two often work hand-in-hand for a healthy pregnancy and even can contain some of the same ingredients (like Vitamin D).

While fertility supplements are intended to help improve fertility, prenatal vitamins are intended to support healthy growth and development of the fetus after conception. 

How do Fertility Supplements Help Women Conceive?

It’s all in the ingredients. It’s important to note that as a natural nutritional supplement, fertility supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA, just as vitamins and herbal supplements and any other natural nutritional supplement isn’t regulated.

For that reason, we recommend you do your research and talk to your doctor to find the right kind of science-backed supplements to help with your fertility needs. But in general, the natural ingredients in fertility supplements have been thoroughly studied by scientists and medical professionals and each one works to maintain and support systems in the female body that enable women to become pregnant. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common ingredients and how they help. 

CoQ10

CoQ10 is short for Coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant that’s one of the most common ingredients in fertility supplements – and for good reason. Antioxidants help protect our cells from the natural waste our bodies produce as it carries out basic functions (eating, moving, etc.). That natural waste is called “free radicals,” which are unstable atoms that can (and will) damage our otherwise healthy cells. 

So how does CoQ10 help with fertility? Our bodies produce CoQ10 naturally already and store it in the mitochondria, the organelle within our cells that generates most of the energy for the cells. Egg cells are the largest cells in our bodies and thus have the most mitochondria. If your egg cells’ mitochondria are being compromised by free radicals, they may not be able to perform their functions as well, all leading to decreased fertility.

In short, keeping the mitochondria in your egg cells healthy is critical to become pregnant. And while our bodies produce CoQ10 on their own, our levels of CoQ10 decrease significantly as we age. So fertility supplements for women often include CoQ10 to help keep a strong supply of this free radical fighting antioxidant, supporting and maintaining egg quality as you attempt to conceive. 

DHEA

DHEA is short for dehydroepiandrosterone. For obvious reasons, we’ll stick to calling it DHEA. Another very common ingredient in fertility supplements for women, DHEA is a natural hormone found in our bodies, but this hormone’s job is to help our bodies produce other hormones. Which hormones? Sex hormones, of course, like estrogen and testosterone. Both are crucial factors in fertility. 

Like CoQ10, the body’s natural production of DHEA decreases with age. So DHEA is particularly important for women hoping to conceive in their later 30’s and into their 40’s as it can help support and maintain healthy ovarian reserves for fertility. 

Vitamin D

A common ingredient in both fertility supplements and prenatal vitamins, Vitamin D is essential for the human body. It helps support healthy cell growth, bone health, muscular function, and more, so it’s easy to see how it’s a key ingredient in prenatal vitamins as it helps the growth of a healthy fetus. But what about its effect on fertility?

In numerous studies over the years, women with adequate Vitamin D levels were more likely to become pregnant than those with deficiencies. Experts admit the correlation still has them scratching their heads, but the results are pretty clear.

Vitamin D has shown its power in its effect on fertility, miscarraige, and recurrent pregnancy loss in studies of thousands of pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes. So although the science is still being examined, experts will likely concur that Vitamin D is a fertility supplement for women as well as a recommended prenatal supplement. 

Conclusion

Female fertility is fascinating and complicated. It’s constantly under examination by experts and scientists around the world as people search for solutions and best practices in the journey of pregnancy. And although natural supplements are largely ignored by the FDA, they’re not ignored by science. Through studies that have examined thousands of women in the past couple of decades, scientists and medical professionals have determined that certain supplements do, in fact, appear to help women conceive.

As always, we recommend discussing the topic with a doctor or medical professional before adding a new supplement to your regimen. Depending on your age, your body, your lifestyle, and your environment, your doctor may endorse specific fertility supplements that are more tailored to your needs. So do your research and have the important conversations as you embark on this journey.

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