Can CoQ10 Help You Get Pregnant Faster?

Written By Lora Shahine, MD

Do an internet search for “fertility supplements”... yeah, maybe don’t. You can easily get overwhelmed by an avalanche of supplement information and advice when you’re trying to conceive. But … what supplements can truly help you get pregnant faster? And whose advice can you trust?

Supplements and “super foods” go in and out of fashion faster than bangs-or-no-bangs, and the latest “hot” supplement is CoQ10. Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant our bodies make naturally, or that we can get from dietary sources. However, as with anything you add to your body in a concentrated fashion like a supplement, you need to know the benefits AND the risks.

In this episode, Dr. Shahine is separating fact from fiction when it comes to the supplement CoQ10 and your fertility. There are some benefits to CoQ10, such as improving egg quality and sperm parameters, but it’s important to understand the evidence is still not definitive.

This episode will arm you with information you can take back to your healthcare provider. Then you’ll know what questions to ask to get a supplement regimen that is most beneficial to you. 

In this episode you’ll hear:

[2:04] What is CoQ10?

[3:41] How CoQ10 works

[4:45] Possible side effects

[5:47] Evidence of CoQ10 for female fertility

[14:55] Evidence of CoQ10 for male factor

[17:46] What Dr. Shahine tells her own patients about CoQ10

Resources mentioned: 

Review article of nutrients for IVF, Hart et al. 2024 RBMO www.rbmojournal.com/action/showPdf?pii=S1472-6483%2823%2900869-6

Review article CoQ10 info, Rodriguez-Valera 2021 J Molecular Science www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/17/9541

CoQ10 levels decrease in levels with age, Ben-Meir et al. 2015 Fert Stert www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001502821500374X

Animal studies showing improved egg and embryo quality with CoQ10 supplementation journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.4137/CMRH.S14681

Randomized controlled trial CoQ10 aneuploidy rates in women doing IVF/ICSI, Bentov et al. 2014 Sage 

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.4137/CMRH.S14681

Review article on antioxidants (including CoQ10) and male fertility, Kaltsas et al. Medicine 2023 

www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/10/1769

Sperm motility improved in men given CoQ10, Balercia, G.2009 Fert Stert www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(08)00487-1/fulltext

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Lora Shahine, MD

Dr. Lora Shahine, reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, completed her residency in OBGYN at the University of California in San Francisco and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Stanford University. She is dedicated to educating and advocating for increased awareness of infertility, miscarriage, and the impact on environmental toxins on health through an active social media presence, teaching, clinical research, and authoring multiple blogs and books including best selling, ‘Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.’

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