Which supplements should I take before pregnancy?

What this means for your decision

If you are planning a pregnancy, folate is the item with the clearest backing behind it, and the authorities' own figures are below. What the evidence here does not support is treating any supplement as something that will help you conceive sooner — that is a different claim, and these records do not test it. Bring the figures to whoever prescribes for you rather than acting on them here.

Who this applies to, and when it changes

These figures are set for women planning a pregnancy or already pregnant. They are not fertility-treatment protocols, and they change if you are breastfeeding, if you take medication that affects folate, or if a clinician has set you a different dose — a previous pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect is the common reason for a much higher one.

Evidence snapshot

Question and decision

Which supplements should I take before pregnancy? The decision is what, if anything, to start taking in the months before trying to conceive.

Who was studied

Women planning a pregnancy, and women in early pregnancy. Not women in fertility treatment specifically, and not a treatment protocol.

What was compared

Folate/folic acid and choline at the intakes health authorities publish. There is no comparator: these are intake recommendations, not a trial of one supplement against another or against nothing.

Outcome measured, and over what period

Nutrient adequacy during conception and early pregnancy. Not conception, not clinical pregnancy, not live birth — none of the records here measures any of those.

Kinds of evidence included

Health-authority guidance (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, FDA, WHO/FAO, NASEM) plus two systematic reviews.

Studies and participants

Not reliably reported in the evidence.

What the evidence shows

Reported as the authorities state them, in DFE — dietary folate equivalents, the unit authorities use so folate from food and folic acid from supplements can be counted together. Folate: 600 mcg DFE a day in pregnancy, 500 while breastfeeding (FDA). Supplemental folic acid counts double — 1 mcg of folic acid is 2 mcg DFE, and 1 mcg from fortified food is about 1.7 mcg DFE (ODS). Choline: 425 mg a day for women trying to conceive (NASEM) and 450 mg in pregnancy (ODS). These are the authorities' figures, not our instruction.

Consistency and disagreement

The folate figures are consistent across ODS, FDA and WHO/FAO, and one folate record carries two independent authorities. The two choline figures each rest on a single authority, and no second independent authority was found for either — a real difference in strength between the two halves of this page.

Confidence in this answer

moderate — high that these are the published intakes, low that taking them changes anyone's chance of conceiving, because nothing here tested that

Strength of the sources

guideline_stated on eight records, multi_authority_consensus on one, systematic_review_supported on two

Review status

machine_verified; clinical_review pending

Who this does and does not describe

Describes women planning or in early pregnancy. Does not describe women in IVF cycles, women on medication affecting folate metabolism, or anyone given a different dose by a clinician. A previous pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect changes the folate figure substantially and is a clinician's call.

Harms, trade-offs and when to seek care

Folate from food alone is very hard to overconsume (ODS). Supplements are a different matter and prenatal products vary, so totals should be added up rather than assumed. The gap this page cannot close is whether any of it affects your chance of conceiving; if that is the question, it is a conversation with a clinician, not a supplement choice.

Last searched, and the records behind this

Last evidence search 2026-08-25. Records: REG:crs_25793991a7@2026-08-25, REG:crs_ea94463acf@2026-08-25, REG:crs_41dd112a10@2026-08-25, REG:crs_a13c52462b@2026-08-25, REG:crs_2d7718b479@2026-08-25, REG:crs_8057a1ef1e@2026-08-25, REG:crs_2c2425242e@2026-08-25, REG:crs_0cd5296f3a@2026-08-25, REG:crs_026c4336de@2026-08-25, REG:crs_18783fa8dc@2026-08-25, REG:crs_969ef97036@2026-08-25.

What we are not sure about, and when to get care