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When you’re trying for a baby, it’s more than understandable that you’d want to set yourself up for a healthy pregnancy in every way possible. For example, looking after your egg quality, even if you’re not planning to get pregnant straight away, is a great way to support your fertility journey. Similarly, experts point to a “three-month rule” for preconception, which is the idea that you and your male partner or sperm donor should take three months before even trying to conceive to lay the foundation for an easeful pregnancy.

“When you’re trying for a baby, it’s more than understandable that you’d want to set yourself up for a healthy pregnancy in every way you possibly can.”

If that sounds like yet another thing to worry about, don’t fret — it’s not. It’s really just building off the idea that you should take good care of your overall health before, during, and after pregnancy. 

But why three months, exactly? And what should you be doing to follow the three-month rule? We’ve spoken to four fertility experts to help make sense of it all.

What exactly is the three-month rule?

In fertility, as in any health-related area, generally taking good care of your health through diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices is always a beneficial thing to do — and for all sorts of different reasons. But if you’re wondering when to begin lifestyle changes to prepare for pregnancy, experts agree that three months before trying to conceive is a good time frame to have in mind.

“If you’re planning to start your family, we want to start making adjustments to nutrition, lifestyle, and supplementation at a minimum three months before your ideal time frame (but longer is even better!)”

– Dr. Kelsey Duncan, ND, founder of The Fertility Confidence Method

“If you’re planning to start your family, we want to start making adjustments to nutrition, lifestyle, and supplementation at a minimum three months before your ideal time frame (but longer is even better!),” says Dr. Kelsey Duncan, ND, a naturopathic doctor and founder of The Fertility Confidence Method. “We also want to consider just our general overall health. If you’re someone who’s currently not eating well, smoking, drinking excessively, etc., it’s going to take time to change habits, and then it’s going to take time for those new habits to have a positive impact on our cellular health.”

For Dr. Natalie Crawford, MD, a fertility doctor in Austin, Texas, and host of the “As a Woman” podcast, the three-month rule has been extrapolated from a pretty simple rule about folic acid supplementation, a B vitamin which plays a huge role in cell growth and can be stored in the body for between three and four months.

“The rule for preconception is starting folic acid three months before you conceive,” says Dr. Crawford. “Most of this advice stems from the importance of starting a prenatal vitamin before you want to conceive in order to build up appropriate stores of folic acid.” Dr. Crawford continues, “Since folic acid is essential in fetal development, specifically the development of the brain and spinal cord, starting folic acid before conception is crucial to avoid birth defects.”

What’s the science behind the three-month rule? (And is it hard and fast?)

While not all doctors will bring up the three-month rule when accompanying your fertility journey, the four experts we spoke to agree that there is a solid amount of evidence for it being a good guideline to follow. Dr. Duncan notes that it’s never too early to start safeguarding your health in preparation for pregnancy, but adds, “The general rule of three months for preconception care comes from the principles of it taking three months to truly impact both egg and sperm quality.”

“The four experts we spoke to agree that there is a solid amount of evidence for it being a good guideline to follow.”

Dr. Priyanka Ghosh, MD, an OB-GYN specializing in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Columbia University Fertility Center, explains that the three-month rule is based, among other things, on “the fact that the sperm life cycle does last three months.” The expert adds, “In a similar vein, we know that the process of ovarian follicular development also takes about three months, so there is interest in whether this is a period during which exposures or lifestyle changes can have a favorable impact on both sperm and egg quality and therefore fertility and pregnancy outcomes.”

Like Dr. Crawford, Dr. Ghosh considers the scientific literature about taking folic acid before conception to be an important starting point for the validity of the three-month rule. “We know that folic acid, for example, is vital to fetal neural tube development, and many studies have shown the reduced incidence of neural tube defects in women who take at least one month of folic acid prior to conception,” Dr. Ghosh says. “The recommendation for three months is an extension of these studies, arguing that it likely takes this long for adequate levels of any supplement to reach levels in the blood to have a therapeutic effect.”

Does the three-month rule apply equally to women and men?

In short: Yes, the three-month rule for trying to conceive applies equally to women and men, for different but parallel reasons. For women, Dr. Crawford explains that we are born with a (metaphorical) “vault” of all the eggs we’ll ever have in our ovaries. Each month, a few of these eggs leave the ovary, with just one of that group eventually ovulating. “However, the entire process of folliculogenesis [creating a follicle] takes three months,” says Dr. Crawford. “I like to explain this as: Your eggs are starting to be selected three months prior to when they are the group available to grow and ovulate. This represents a time when our eggs are likely more sensitive to the world around us, and setting a good foundation with your lifestyle can be beneficial.”

“In short: Yes, the three-month rule for trying to conceive applies equally to women and men, for different but parallel reasons.”

In men, the three-month rule is equally important, except men can create new sperm, a process that takes around three months. “So the sperm a man releases today actually began developing about three months ago,” says Jaclyn Downs, a certified birth doula, founder of Functional Genomic Nutrition, and author of “Enhancing Fertility through Functional Medicine: Using Nutrigenomics to Solve ‘Unexplained’ Infertility.” “If a man is exposed to inflammation, oxidative stress, nutrient deficiencies, toxins, or even high stress during that window — the sperm released will reflect that.”

In men, Downs says, the three-month period is a powerful opportunity to “improve the morphology and motility of the sperm,” which in turn can greatly improve the likelihood of conceiving, and further the health of the fetus and then the baby.

What are some ways to nurture your health according to the three-month rule?

“For both parents-to-be, I always say: What is good for your body is good for your egg and sperm quality,” says Dr. Crawford. Essentially, any habits that you already know make you feel your best are encouraged when it comes to the preconception period. 

For Dr. Crawford, some of the most helpful things you can do in the three months before trying to conceive to protect your own health, fertility, and your future baby’s health are “getting sleep, decreasing stress, prioritizing healthy exercise, avoiding environmental toxins, and a diet high in fruits, vegetables and fiber while low in refined sugar and ultra-processed foods.” In terms of what you’re ingesting during that time, Dr. Ghosh further recommends eliminating alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and caffeine (or, if that’s not possible, at least significantly reducing your intake).

Downs recommends buying organic products where possible, including food, skin and body care, and household items, and investing in air and water purifiers if you can to reduce the number of toxins you’re exposed to daily. “I also recommend consuming more antioxidant-rich foods like pomegranate, broccoli sprouts, and organic berries,” Downs says.

“Reducing stress and tending to your nervous system is crucial — but we all know that’s easier said than done.”

Meanwhile, as mentioned by Dr. Crawford, reducing stress and tending to your nervous system is crucial — but we all know that’s easier said than done. To help you in that process, Downs suggests engaging in mindful movement and not overdoing it, getting lots of sunlight on your skin, adopting better sleep hygiene, soaking in Epsom salts, and trying out infrared saunas (but only before conception!). The expert also notes that you may want to take steps to address any underlying emotional trauma, which can keep our nervous systems in sympathetic (fight or flight) mode.

All four experts also stress the importance of starting a quality prenatal supplement (for women) and multivitamin (for men) before conception. “My clients personally love the Needed Powder Prenatal because it’s easy to throw in a smoothie in the morning and cut down on pill count,” says Dr. Duncan. Lastly, Dr. Ghosh recommends consulting a physician around this time “to review medications one may be taking to ensure these are safe in pregnancy and OK to be continuing while trying to conceive.” You may also wish to consult a naturopathic doctor who can help you decide which supplements might benefit you and your partner ahead of conception.

When it comes to fertility, it can often feel like there are endless to-dos in order to promote a healthy pregnancy. At the end of the day, though, all of the guidelines boil down to equipping you with the tools to set yourself up for the best possible outcomes. 

“Preconception care can feel silly, but it’s incredibly important,” says Dr. Duncan. “Working in the infertility space I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had women tell me, ‘I wish I knew this sooner.’ So being armed with good data is going to make this next phase of your journey that much easier.”

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Iris Goldsztajn (she/her) is a freelance writer and editor based in London, UK. Her work has been featured in British Vogue, Marie Claire, Refinery29, SELF, Bustle and many more. Iris can typically be found on her way to a fitness class or with her nose in a good book.