When you’re trying to conceive, what you stop doing can matter just as much as what you start. Some of the biggest fertility disruptors are everyday habits and products you might not think twice about: common painkillers, skincare ingredients, the lubricant in your nightstand drawer. Here’s what the evidence says about the specific things worth avoiding or cutting back on while you’re trying to get pregnant.
Alcohol: Lower Is Better, Especially Over 30
Having one to three drinks per week doesn’t appear to change your odds of conceiving compared to not drinking at all. But the picture shifts as intake goes up. A large Danish study found that women who drank one to five drinks per week had about 39% lower odds of achieving a clinical pregnancy compared to non-drinkers, and women drinking more than 10 per week saw their odds drop by 66%.
Age plays a role too. Women over 30 who consumed one to six drinks per week had higher rates of infertility compared to same-age women who drank less than one per week. The safest approach while actively trying is to keep alcohol to a minimum or skip it altogether. For men, two large studies found no clear link between alcohol consumption and time to conception, though heavy drinking is still associated with other health risks that can indirectly affect fertility.
Caffeine: Stay Under 200 mg Per Day
You don’t need to give up coffee entirely. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists considers moderate caffeine intake, defined as less than 200 mg per day, unlikely to be a major factor in miscarriage or preterm birth. That’s roughly one 12-ounce cup of brewed coffee. If you’re drinking multiple cups a day or combining coffee with energy drinks or caffeinated teas, it’s worth adding up your total and trimming back.
Common Painkillers Around Ovulation
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin work by blocking the production of prostaglandins, which are chemical signals your body uses for inflammation and pain. The problem is that prostaglandins are also essential for ovulation and implantation. Without that pre-ovulatory surge in prostaglandins, the follicle may not rupture to release the egg.
The prescription NSAID indomethacin has the strongest documented effect on delaying ovulation, and is actually used clinically to prevent ovulation during certain IVF cycles. Ibuprofen appears less disruptive in small studies, but different NSAIDs inhibit prostaglandin production to different degrees. If you need pain relief during your fertile window, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is a safer choice since it doesn’t work through the same prostaglandin pathway.
Skincare Products With Retinoids
Retinoids, the vitamin A derivatives found in many anti-aging and acne treatments, are contraindicated during pregnancy and for women planning a pregnancy. Topical versions like adapalene, tretinoin, and tazarotene absorb very little into the bloodstream, so the risk of fetal harm is low. Still, the European Medicines Agency recommends against using them as a precaution once you’re trying to conceive.
Check your serums, night creams, and acne treatments for ingredients like retinol, retinal, tretinoin, or adapalene. Swap to pregnancy-safe alternatives like azelaic acid or vitamin C serums before you start trying rather than scrambling to switch after a positive test.
High-Mercury Fish
Mercury accumulates in large, long-lived predatory fish and can impair reproductive health. The FDA and EPA advise anyone who could become pregnant to avoid the following species entirely:
- Bigeye tuna
- Shark
- King mackerel
- Swordfish
- Marlin
- Tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico
- Orange roughy
Fish itself is excellent for fertility thanks to omega-3 fatty acids. The goal isn’t to avoid seafood, just to choose lower-mercury options like salmon, sardines, shrimp, and light canned tuna.
Intense Exercise Beyond a Few Hours Per Week
Moderate physical activity supports fertility, but pushing into high-intensity territory can work against you. In one study, women who did two hours of vigorous exercise per week were 16% less likely to conceive than sedentary women. At three to four hours per week, that dropped to 27% less likely. At five or more hours, 32%.
The underlying issue is hormonal. A study comparing regular runners (averaging about 20 miles per week) to sedentary women found that 58% of the runners had menstrual cycle abnormalities, including skipped ovulation and shortened luteal phases, compared to just 9% of sedentary women. Women with a high overall exercise intensity were 3.2 times more likely to experience infertility than inactive women, and those who regularly exercised to exhaustion had 2.3 times the odds.
This doesn’t mean you should stop working out. It means dialing back the intensity if you’re doing frequent HIIT sessions, long-distance running, or CrossFit-style training. Brisk walking, moderate cycling, yoga, and strength training at a sustainable pace are all fine.
Chronic Stress and Poor Sleep
Your reproductive hormones follow a circadian rhythm. Sleep deprivation disrupts that rhythm, throwing off the hormonal cascade that controls ovulation. When you’re sleep-deprived or chronically stressed, your body ramps up its stress response system, which produces higher levels of stress hormones like cortisol. Elevated cortisol suppresses the hormonal signals that trigger egg development and ovulation.
This creates a feedback loop: stress disrupts sleep, poor sleep amplifies the stress response, and both suppress fertility. Prioritizing consistent sleep (aiming for seven to nine hours on a regular schedule) and finding ways to manage stress aren’t just wellness advice. They directly influence whether your body ovulates normally each cycle.
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals
Certain chemicals found in everyday products mimic or interfere with your hormones. The two most studied are phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA).
Phthalates are common in plastic containers, vinyl products, and personal care items like fragranced lotions and nail polish. They damage egg quality by increasing oxidative stress in the ovaries and reducing estrogen production. BPA, found in food and beverage packaging (canned food linings, plastic bottles, receipt paper), mimics estrogen in the body and disrupts the normal hormonal communication between your brain and ovaries. In animal studies, BPA exposure also impaired sperm count and motility in male offspring.
Practical steps to reduce exposure: store food in glass or stainless steel instead of plastic, avoid heating food in plastic containers, choose fragrance-free personal care products, and wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly to reduce pesticide residue. You won’t eliminate these chemicals entirely, but reducing the biggest sources helps.
Standard Lubricants During Sex
Most water-based lubricants contain glycerin, which can penetrate sperm membranes, dissolve the tail structure, and significantly reduce motility. Popular brands like KY Jelly and Durex lubricants are among the worst offenders, with Durex showing the most harmful effects on both sperm motility and survival in lab testing.
If you need lubrication, Pre-Seed is the most widely studied fertility-friendly option and had the least negative impact on sperm. Oil-based lubricants like Vaseline performed as the second-least harmful option in research, though they can degrade latex condoms (not a concern if you’re trying to conceive). The simplest swap is switching to a fertility-friendly lubricant during your fertile window.
Heat Exposure for Male Partners
Sperm production requires temperatures slightly below core body temperature, which is why the testicles sit outside the body. Anything that raises scrotal temperature can impair sperm quality over time. Using a laptop computer on the lap raises scrotal temperature by about 2.6 to 2.8 degrees Celsius, a significant increase driven by both the heat from the device and the leg-together posture required to balance it.
Other common heat sources include frequent hot tub or sauna use, tight-fitting underwear, and prolonged sitting. Male partners can reduce risk by using a desk or table for laptops, wearing loose-fitting boxers, and taking breaks from long stretches of sitting. Since sperm take roughly 10 to 11 weeks to fully develop, these changes need time to make a difference.