How to Prepare Your Body for Pregnancy
Preconception health for both partners: fertility diet, prenatal vitamins, sperm health, PCOS, weight, sleep, and supplements. Doctor-led, evidence-led.
The posts to read first.
21 min readWhy the 90 Days Before Trying to Conceive Matter Most
A doctor's guide to the 90 days before trying to conceive: the egg and sperm biology, what evidence supports, and what the supplement industry overstates.
21 min readThe Fertility Diet: What Actually Improves Outcomes
The honest evidence on the fertility diet. Dr. Rumpa on what Mediterranean eating, the Nurses' Health Study, and PCOS data really show, and what to ignore.
25 min readMale Fertility Supplements: What the Evidence Shows
A doctor's honest look at male fertility supplements: what the Cochrane review, FAZST, and MOXI trials actually show, and what's worth your money.
25 min readPreconception Supplements: The Stack That's Worth Taking
A doctor's evidence-based guide to preconception supplements. Which of the four to five compounds actually work, at what dose, and what to skip.
22 min readStress and Fertility: What's Real, What's Overstated
Honest doctor's guide to stress and fertility: what the evidence actually shows about sleep, cortisol, shift work, and the harm of telling people to just relax.
21 min readWeight and Fertility: What the Numbers Actually Mean
A doctor's anti-shame guide to weight and fertility: what BMI thresholds really are, why 5 to 10 percent is the number that matters, and where the data ends.
Or pick a corner.
Diet for Fertility
2 posts
16 min readCaffeine and Alcohol TTC: The Real Limits for Both Partners
The honest caffeine and alcohol TTC numbers. Dr. Rumpa on ACOG and NICE guidance, the male partner's role, and what 200 mg a day actually looks like.
17 min readFoods to Avoid for Sperm Health and TTC: An Honest List
Online lists of foods to avoid for sperm health and TTC conflate real risk with myth. Dr. Rumpa on what evidence actually supports avoiding, and what to ignore.
Female Supplements
2 posts
17 min readCoQ10 Supplement for Fertility: Dose, Form, and Timing
A doctor's evidence-based take on CoQ10 supplement for fertility: who actually benefits, the dose and form, timing, and the cost-honest version.
17 min readPrenatal Vitamins: When to Start and Which to Pick
A doctor's label-reading guide to prenatal vitamins. The five ingredients that actually matter, the marketing claims to ignore, and when to start.
Male Supplements & Sperm Health
1 post
18 min readCoQ10 and Male Fertility: Dose, Form, and Mechanism
Honest evidence on CoQ10 and male fertility: which men benefit, what dose, ubiquinone vs ubiquinol, and how long until a repeat semen analysis.
Sleep, Stress & Lifestyle
2 posts
18 min readEndocrine Disruptors and Fertility: What the Evidence Says
A calm clinician's take on endocrine disruptors and fertility. Which BPA, phthalate, and PFAS swaps have evidence, and which are anxiety-driven theatre.
17 min readExercise and Fertility: How Much Is Too Much When TTC
A doctor's plain answer on exercise and fertility: the moderate dose that helps when TTC, the high-volume pattern that can hurt it, and where PCOS changes the call.
The 90-Day Window
1 post
21 min read90 Day Plan Before Trying to Conceive: Couples Week by Week
A doctor's week-by-week 90 day plan before trying to conceive for couples. Supplements, labs, lifestyle, and what to start when, mapped to 12 weeks.
Weight, Insulin & Metabolic Health
2 posts
20 min readLosing Weight With PCOS for Fertility: Realistic Approaches
An honest doctor's guide to losing weight with PCOS for fertility. The 5 to 10 percent target, what actually works, what does not, and where GLP-1s fit.
19 min readPCOS, Insulin Resistance, and Fertility
A doctor's guide to the insulin engine behind PCOS: how it's measured, the hierarchy of treatment from diet to metformin, and why lean PCOS still counts.
A note from Dr. Rumpa.
Preconception health is the work both partners do in the 90 days before trying to conceive, the window when egg quality and the 74 day spermatogenesis cycle are still modifiable. This journey covers what the evidence supports, what it does not, and what to actually change.
Start with the framework. A 90 day plan before trying to conceive maps week by week for couples, and the 90 day window explains why the preconception phase matters most. The fertility diet section moves past trends to the Mediterranean diet fertility evidence, an honest list of foods to avoid for sperm health, and the caffeine and alcohol TTC limits for both partners.
Supplements get dose level detail. Prenatal vitamins, when to start and which to pick, prenatal vitamins with folic acid vs methylfolate, the preconception supplements stack worth taking, vitamin D and fertility, CoQ10 supplement for fertility, plus the male fertility supplements pillar: zinc for sperm health with selenium and vitamin E, CoQ10 and male fertility, and the 74 day supplement cycle for how improve sperm health.
Then the harder levers. Weight and fertility numbers and BMI, losing weight with PCOS for fertility, PCOS insulin resistance fertility, myo-inositol and D-chiro inositol, the PCOS diet supplements protocol, exercise and fertility dose, stress and fertility plus sleep, hot tubs and saunas sperm risk, lifestyle habits vs supplement for sperm health, and endocrine disruptors fertility evidence.
Just the protocol, the doses, and the decision points.
Keep moving.
Previous · Stage 02
Getting diagnosed
The fertility workup: AMH, FSH, semen analysis, PCOS.
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Next · Stage 04
Trying naturally
Fertile window, BBT, OPKs, and tracking with PCOS.
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