Fertility Supplement Usage Statistics: 2026 Report

Supplement Use Among US Adults by Sex and Age

In the table below, we break down dietary supplement use among US adults from the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, for adults aged 20 to 39, the main reproductive years, and for all adults.

Our researchers drew three conclusions from the national data:

• We found that about half of US women aged 20 to 39, 49.0%, take a dietary supplement, the baseline against which the fertility figures in this report can be read.
• Our data showed that women in that age group are 13.1 percentage points more likely than men to take a supplement.
• We found that supplement use among adults aged 20 to 39 rose from 34.7% in 2007 to 2008 to 42.5% in 2017 to 2018, and that a multivitamin-mineral is the most common type, at 24.0%.

Supplement Use by Population and Life Stage

In the table below, we line up the share taking supplements in each population our study covers, from women of reproductive age in general to couples and patients in fertility care and women in pregnancy. Each figure keeps its source's own definition.

Our team took three findings from the population data:

• We found that supplement use climbs with each step toward pregnancy, from 49.0% of US women aged 20 to 39 to 72.2% of pregnant women and 93.7% of patients at a US infertility practice.
• Our data showed that the female partner in a couple seeking fertility treatment was 1.8 times as likely as the male partner to take a multivitamin.
• We found that iodine lags in every group with a figure: 17.8% of US pregnant supplement users and 19% of breastfeeding users took a supplement with iodine, and 37% of Australian women did before conception.

Supplement Use Among Couples Seeking Fertility Treatment

In the table below, we compare the female and male partners among 2,370 US couples seeking fertility treatment in the FAZST and IDEAL cohorts, which recorded supplement use for both partners at the start of follow-up.

Our researchers drew three conclusions from the couples data:

• We found that women were 1.8 times as likely as men to take a multivitamin at the start of follow-up, a gap of 30 percentage points.
• Our data showed that coenzyme Q10 and zinc appear only on the men's list of common supplements, and calcium and folic acid only on the women's.
• We found that fish oil, vitamin B12, and vitamin C were among the five most common supplements for both partners.

Multivitamin Use and Live Birth in Fertility Treatment

In the table below, we list the adjusted risk ratios for live birth that the US couples study reported for each supplement and partner over up to 18 months, with 95% confidence intervals. A risk ratio above 1.0 means a higher chance of live birth among users.

Our team took three findings from the live birth data:

• We found that only the female multivitamin estimate sits clearly above 1.0, while the intervals for folic acid and fish oil cross it.
• Our data showed that 44% of the couples conceived and 35% had a live birth, and 21% of pregnancies ended in loss, with no link between multivitamin use and loss in either partner.
• We found that supplement use was recorded, not assigned, so the results show an association, not proof that multivitamins caused more births.

Supplement Use at a US Infertility Practice

In the table below, we break down the supplement use, prescription use, and fertility treatments that 95 patients reported in a 2021 survey at a Colorado academic infertility practice.

Our researchers drew three conclusions from the practice survey:

• We found that almost every patient took vitamins, and more than half added at least one herbal product.
• Our data showed that 69.5% of the patients also took prescription medications, and the authors identified 41 moderate-risk interactions between the supplements and drugs reported, 12 of them involving infertility treatment.
• We found that patients disclosed only a third of their supplements to a provider, so a clinic may not see much of what its patients take.

The Most Common Herbal Supplements Among Infertility Patients

In the table below, we list the herbal products the practice's patients used most often, the share of the 95 patients using each, and whether the study's interaction table flagged an interaction with letrozole, an ovulation drug used in fertility treatment.

Our team took three findings from the herbal data:

• We found that the most common herbal products were everyday teas and spices, led by green tea, and tea was the most common form, at 42.3% of herbal use against 23.8% for pills and capsules.
• Our data showed that maca was the herb most often taken specifically for fertility, by five patients, and that fertility, at 15.0%, ranked behind general health, at 24.5%, and immune support, at 16.2%, among reasons for herbal use.
• We found that two of the seven most common herbs, chamomile and peppermint, carry a flagged interaction with letrozole, and the study flags chasteberry, which three patients took for fertility, as possibly unsafe in pregnancy.

Where Patients Learn About Supplements

In the table below, we compare where patients learn about supplements in two studies: where patients at the US infertility practice learned about their herbal products, and the primary source of supplement information for women in German fertility and pregnancy care.

Our researchers drew three conclusions from the information source data:

• We found that friends and family were the leading source at the US practice, more than five times as common as a general health care provider.
• Our data showed that the internet was a leading source in both studies, at 28.0% in the US and 33.9% in Germany.
• We found that in the German study, which asked for the primary source, a gynecologist led at 37.8%, and only 0.8% of women said they had received no information.

What Women Know About Recommended Micronutrients

In the table below, we break down which of six recommended micronutrients 254 women in German fertility and pregnancy care knew before receiving information, alongside the range of each nutrient across the multiple micronutrient supplements they reported taking.

Our team took three findings from the knowledge data:

• We found that 89.9% of the women knew folic acid was a recommended micronutrient, but no other nutrient reached 26%, and only 1.6% knew choline was one.
• Our data showed that the multiple micronutrient supplements the women took contained 100 to 130 mg of choline, about a quarter of the 480 mg adequate intake the study lists.
• We found that iron varied most, from 5 mg to 454 mg across products against a 30 mg recommended amount, which the authors flag as a risk of over- or underdosage.

Supplement Types Taken Before Conception

In the table below, we list the supplement types taken by 485 Australian women surveyed before conception in 2009, from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, which breaks use down by type.

Our researchers drew three conclusions from the supplement type data:

• We found that multiple micronutrient products were the most common type, taken by 43.7% of the women, more than three times the share taking folic acid alone.
• Our data showed that 51% took a supplement containing folic acid before conception, so about half were not getting folic acid from a supplement.
• We found that omega-3 or fish oil was the most common single-nutrient product after folic acid, at 10.7%.

Who Takes Supplements Before Conception

In the table below, we calculated the share of the Australian women in each group who took a supplement, from the study's counts of women who did and did not supplement.

Our team took three findings from the group data:

• We found that women trying to conceive were far more likely to take a supplement, 78.0% against 53.7% of women who were not trying.
• Our data showed that use fell with each previous child, from 74.3% of women with none to 46.3% of women with two or more.
• We found that the income gap, 68.5% against 58.9%, was not statistically significant in the study, while women who smoked daily were the least likely group to supplement, at 35.3%.

What the Usage Numbers Mean for Couples Trying to Conceive

Supplements are close to universal among women in fertility care and common among men, but the advice behind them mostly comes from outside the clinic. The gap between what patients take and what they tell their providers carries the clearest practical risk, given the interactions found with infertility drugs.

Across the studies, the pattern holds: use rises as women move toward pregnancy, women take more than men, and herbal products often sit beside standard vitamins. In the US couples data, the clearest link to live birth came from a plain multivitamin for the female partner.

So if you are trying to conceive, bring a full list of what each partner takes, herbs included, to your next appointment.