About Conception

How conception works. The short version.

Conception is the moment a sperm fertilises a mature egg cell, forming an embryo. The window where this can happen is brief, typically the 24 hours after ovulation. The preparation for that moment, however, takes months.

The 90-day egg cycle

The egg you ovulate this month started developing roughly 90 days ago. During those three months, the egg cell grows, matures, and goes through critical cellular development. Every nutrient your body has access to during that window helps shape the quality of that egg. Folate has a role in the process of cell division. Vitamin B12 contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism. Vitamin C and selenium contribute to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. Coenzyme Q10 is naturally present in cellular mitochondria; its role in oocyte energy metabolism has been examined in research.

This is why most fertility specialists recommend starting preconception nutrition at least three months before you actively try to conceive.

Sperm cycle. Also 90 days.

Sperm cells take roughly the same 90 days to develop. Male preconception nutrition matters as much as female. Conception is a two-person process. More on male fertility →

When fertility starts to change

Female fertility starts to decline more noticeably in the mid-30s, with a steeper decline after 38. This is largely because both the number AND quality of remaining egg cells decreases. Nutrition cannot reverse this, but it CAN support the quality of the eggs you still have.

Male fertility tends to decline more gradually but is similarly responsive to nutrition, lifestyle, and oxidative stress.

What this means for your supplement choices

Standard prenatal vitamins are designed for pregnancy. They were never designed for the preconception window, the 90 days before conception when egg and sperm cells are developing. That window benefits from higher doses, more active forms of nutrients, and ingredients specifically associated with reproductive health.

This is why BioMirco built Fertility Advance and Fertility Focus. Preconception formulas built around what the research recommends, not what the high street settles for.

Shop Fertility Advance → · Explore our research →