Preparing for IVF with Supplements

There are so many supplement products out on the market for being advertised as Fertility support. In this blog, we want to share some of our recommendations on which types and what brands of supplements we recommend for preparing for IVF (in-vitro fertilization), IUI (intra-uterine insemination), or ICSI. These are only recommendations and every women has their own individual needs, so use this as a baseline. Always consult with your REI specialist and TCM Gynecology Acupuncturist for guidance for your Fertility program.

When planning on conceiving via Reproductive Technology, it is best to do these supplements for at least 3 months alongside any Fertility preparation program. Why? Because it takes 3 months to help enhance, mature, and improve egg quality. The goal is to create quality and healthy sustaining eggs for conception alongside providing nourishment via vitamins and minerals for your body to help support the intended pregnancy.

Here are the supplement recommendation:

1. Prenatal: If you are going to invest in a good supplement, the prenatal tops all the supplements needed. Usually, you can get a monthly supply of prenatal ranging from $20 to 45 per month. If you have a MTHFR gene variation; then, it is important to get a prenatal with methylfolate and methylocobalamine for B12 for better absorption.

   1. Theranatal Core Preconception is 1 tablet per day

   2. Thorne Basic Prenatal and Naturelo are 3 tablets per day. The Throne Prenatal has higher dose of vitamin B12 and can be helpful for fertility especially if you have a history of anemia, Celiac Disease, or MTHFR mutation.

   3. Mama Bird’s Irone & Iodine free prenatal is a good choice if you need to avoid iron supplements (1)

   4. Ritual Preconception is gluten free and vegan. I like the way they are transparent about where they get their ingredients from and what exactly is in the product beyond the Nutrient label.

   5. Rainbow Light is a food based prenatal but is not gluten free because of the fermenting process they use for their probiotics.

2. Vitamin E: start taking this for about 1 month before the embryo transfer for 400IU. Any higher doses, check in with your provider.

   1. Life Extension Super Vitamin E (1)

3. Vitamin D3: vitamin D3 is essential for many body functions such as immune support, mood support, gut health, and more. It is important to get lab work to check vitamin D3 levels before trying to conceive. Sometimes your provider can write a prescription for vitamin D3 if the levels are truly low and, then; they will retest in a 1-2 months to check on vitamin D3 levels.

   1. Thorne Vitamin D3 drops

   2. Doctor’s Best D3 5000 IU

   3. Superior source, vitamin D3 (Found at Sprout’s)-recommend 2,000-5,000 IU’s

4. CoQ10 serves as an antioxidant and maybe part of the recommendation for Fertility support

   1. Life Extension Super Ubiquinol

   2. Jarrow Ubiquinol QH absorb

   3. Bio-Qinone

   4. Pure Encapsulations CoQ10 (Check out Take Your Vitamin Store in Gilbert AZ)

5. Omega 3 with DHA: some prenatals are starting to include omega 3 and DHA resources, but if they do not check out Nordic Naturals for a great line of Omega 3 Fish oil and DHA. Omega 3’s are essential for nervous system health and development, hormonal health, and brain health for mom and intended baby.

6. Herbal Supplements should only be used under prescription of a herbalist, Licensed Acupuncturist, N.D., D.O. (with proper training), or Integrative Doctor (with proper herbal training). I see so many patients come to the office with a bag of herbal supplements that were bought under the recommendation of their friends and family. Most of the time these do not work for everyone. Every woman has different needs for their fertility journey and herbal medicine is medicine. You need to know what you are taking and why. Most REI do not want their patients taking herbal medicine alongside certain IVF and IUI procedures, so they do not have any interference with the process. There are some herbs that are contraindicated for fertility, or interfere with the hormones used in the IVF/IUI process; while others will help enhance the chance of implantation, or may hold the pregnancy better.

For using supplements, make sure they are high quality, non-GMO, gluten free (if needed), vegan (if desired), organic, methylated (if needed), and simple for you to take. Keep the list simple. After the embryo transfer, continue taking the prenatal, vitamin D3, and Omega 3/DHA supplement.

Resource:

1. “Supplements to prepare for embryo transfer”. It starts with the egg book.