Every entry whose writeup carries a note for trying to conceive. The note is the entry’s own — follow it for the full context. See this in the planner →
Supplements
- CoQ10An early but real evidence base, mainly in women with diminished ovarian reserve going through IVF — small trials suggest one to two months of pretreatment is associated with more mature eggs and better embryo quality, plausibly by countering oxidative stress in ageing egg cells. This is not an ACOG or NIH-endorsed standard, more a promising finding worth knowing about.
- Folate (B9)Start now rather than waiting for a positive test — ACOG and the CDC recommend 400 mcg daily beginning at least a month before conceiving, since the neural tube closes around day 26–28 after fertilisation, before most pregnancies are confirmed. If there is a history of a neural tube defect, the recommended dose is far higher (4,000 mcg) and needs medical guidance.
- IodineThe American Thyroid Association recommends 150 mcg/day for anyone planning a pregnancy. Maternal thyroid hormone needs iodine to make, and it matters for foetal brain development from very early on — before most pregnancies are confirmed.
- IronNo different target while trying, but correcting a deficiency now is worth doing rather than waiting — pregnancy roughly triples the requirement (18 mg to 27 mg), and entering it with adequate iron stores measurably improves iron status by the time of birth.
- Omega-3 (Fish Oil)NIH recommends at least 250 mg/day combined EPA and DHA for all women of childbearing age, rising further in pregnancy for its preterm-birth-reducing effect. Most people fall well short of this from food alone, which is the practical case for establishing intake before conceiving rather than starting from zero afterward.
- Vitamin AWorth applying the pregnancy caution before you conceive, not after: high-dose preformed vitamin A (retinol, not beta-carotene) above roughly 10,000 IU a day carries a birth-defect risk, and the vulnerable early window can begin before pregnancy is confirmed.
Other situations