What to Eat When You're Trying to Conceive as a Solo Mum: The Fertility Nutrition Guide
Here's something that stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it.
Your eggs take around 100 days to fully mature.
Not overnight. Not in the week before your cycle. One hundred days. Roughly three months.
Which means the food you eat, the supplements you take, how you sleep and how you manage stress right now — today — can directly influence the egg quality in your next cycle. Or the one after that. Or the one your clinic retrieves at your next egg collection.
That's not meant to scare you. It's one of the most empowering pieces of fertility information I've come across. Because unlike so much of this journey, this part is something you actually have some influence over.
Why most fertility nutrition advice misses the mark for solo mums
The fertility nutrition content out there is mostly written for couples. It assumes a partner who can share the mental load. It doesn't account for the fact that you're probably also working full time, managing appointments alone, carrying the emotional weight of every decision yourself, and trying to keep your regular life running while simultaneously preparing your body for pregnancy.
I wanted to change that. So I sat down with fertility dietitian Lara Mathers for a full-length conversation — over an hour — where she answered the exact questions my community had submitted. Lara came to this field through her own experience. At 35, before finding a partner, she was in the process of freezing her own eggs. She wasn't advising from the outside. She was doing the research for herself.
What came out of that conversation is this guide. And this blog is the overview — the starting point. The guide goes significantly deeper.
Start here: the Mediterranean diet is the most researched
Of all the dietary patterns studied for fertility, the Mediterranean diet has the strongest evidence. It's positively associated with increased fertility in both women and men, improved pregnancy success rates, and reduced risk of complications — including gestational diabetes.
In practice, that means: oily fish as your primary protein (salmon, sardines, mackerel — 2 to 3 serves per week), plenty of vegetables and fruit, more chicken than red meat, and whole grains instead of refined ones. Quinoa, brown rice, oats, wholemeal bread. Not fewer carbs — better carbs.
It also means reducing the things that increase inflammation: ultra-processed food, trans fats, high sugar intake, and — increasingly — artificial sweeteners. The WHO now recommends reducing artificial sweeteners specifically because of their effect on the gut microbiome, which is linked to reproductive conditions including PCOS and endometriosis.
The thing about omega-3s that most people don't know
Omega-3 fatty acids aren't just generally good for you. They're a core structural component of the fluid surrounding your egg. That outer layer is literally composed of omega-3s — and having adequate levels makes it easier for sperm to penetrate and for fertilisation to occur.
If you eat oily fish regularly, you're likely getting enough. If you don't, a supplement is genuinely worth taking — not just a nice-to-have. Look for one that specifies EPA and DHA content rather than just "omega-3." If you're vegetarian or vegan, algae DHA supplements are the best option — they're third-party tested, don't cause the reflux that fish oil can.
One practical note: keep your omega-3 supplements in the fridge. They oxidise at room temperature. And if you're doing a stim cycle, stop omega-3 the day before egg collection as it can slightly thin the blood, then restart after.
What to eat in the lead-up to transfer
One of the questions my community asked Lara was about specific foods for implantation. Her answer surprised people.
Beetroot. High in natural nitric oxide, which increases blood flow to the reproductive organs — creating a better environment for implantation. Have it regularly in the weeks leading up to transfer and during the two-week wait.
Vitamin C-rich foods — citrus, capsicum, strawberries — help maintain progesterone levels. Leafy greens provide the folate that supports the environment where the embryo burrows in. Protein at every meal matters especially during stimulation and the two-week wait.
And on the McDonald's chips question that every IVF woman is thinking: Lara's answer was that if it's one meal, it's a blip in the ocean. What you've done in the three months prior matters far more than what you eat in the two-week wait. Being kind to yourself during those two weeks is more important than making sure everything you eat is perfect.
The supplement question — and what your GP might not tell you
This is where the guide gets into real detail that I can't fully do justice to here. But a few things Lara flagged that most women aren't told:
Vitamin D: your GP may tell you your level is "normal" at 50. Lara says 75 is the optimal target for fertility, per The Endocrine Society guidelines. Deficiency is extremely common and directly affects both fertility and gestational diabetes risk.
Prenatal vitamins: not all are equal. Elevit — one of the most commonly recommended — contains only 150mcg of iodine, but pregnancy requires 220mcg. And look for methylated folate rather than plain folic acid. The methylated form is absorbed more readily by your body.
Choline: Lara calls it her "favourite newbie nutrient." It plays a critical role in placental function and neural tube development alongside folate. Many prenatals don't include it. And it's found primarily in eggs — another reason Lara recommends eating eggs three to four times per week.
Supplement timing also matters: zinc and iron compete for absorption and should be taken at different meals. Vitamin D and CoQ10 need to be taken with food containing fat. Omega-3 goes in the fridge.
If you're over 40, there are additional targeted supplements worth discussing with your dietitian — particularly CoQ10 in Ubiquinol form, and NAD, which supports cellular energy production in aging eggs.
The one thing that often gets dismissed as "soft" advice — and shouldn't
High cortisol is directly linked to reduced implantation rates and disrupted cycles. That's not wellness language. That's physiology.
You're carrying more than most people around you can fully see. The weight of every appointment, every decision, every wait — alone. That kind of sustained stress has real effects on your body and your fertility outcomes.
Managing it isn't indulgent. Sleep protection, movement, five-minute breathing practices, finding a community of women who genuinely understand what this is like — these aren't extras. They're part of the plan.
Where to go from here
This blog is the overview. The full picture — including a complete supplement reference, specific guidance for over-40s, vegetarian and vegan considerations, what to stop and what to continue once you get a positive test, and a printable 100-day checklist — is in the guide.
It was built directly from Lara's advice. It's the most complete version of this conversation in one place.
Download Nourish Your Fertility — the free guide for solo mums who are trying to conceive or preparing for fertility treatment. Evidence-based, realistic, and made for women doing this alone: