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There are several different ways women can increase their fertility. Women can use vitamins and herbal supplements, change their diet, and use prescription medications. Lets take a look at some examples and the pros and cons of each.

Remember, always talk to your doctor before using any vitamins or herbs.

Vitamins

Folic Acid (Folate) - Maintain quality and number of sperm.

Vitamin B12 - Helps men with low sperm count.

Vitamin C - Lack of this antioxidant can cause sperm to clump. This is made worse in men who smoke. Vitamin C can reduce the clumping of sperm and also reduce the number of abnormally shaped sperm, as well as improved the men’s sperm count, motility and viability.

Zinc - Zinc is essential in maintaining the proper levels of testosterone in men, and also in maintaining a high sperm count and high motility.

Selenium - Helps increase sperm count in men with low sperm count.

Herbal Supplements

Astragalus extract - Reported to stimulate sperm motility. Do not use this supplement if you have a fever.

Chinese Ginseng - Raises testosterone levels which increases sperm count and motility. Select a standardized extract containing 7 percent ginsenosides and take 100 milligrams twice daily for two to three weeks. Stop taking the preparation for two weeks, then repeat. If the herb does not have the sought-after effects within this period of time, discontinue using it. It is unlikely that it will do anything further.

Pygeum Extract (Pygeum africanum) - The extract of the bark from this evergreen improves the volume and composition of semenal fluid. It also increases the levels of alkaline phosphatase (an important enzyme that maintains the proper pH of the seminal fluid).

St. John's Wort - Treats general infertility, although some new sources say that in large doses, St. John's Wart can actually have a negative impact on male fertility.

Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) - Saw Palmetto tones and strengthens male reproductive system and increases semenal volume, although recently it has been found that Saw Palmetto causes a decrease in a horomone essential to sperm production.

Licorice - Treats general infertility. This herb also aids in removing toxins from the body. Do not use this herb if you have high blood pressure.

Echinacea - Used to treat general infertility, although large amounts of Echinacea can cause sperm to not bind to the egg, which would inhibit fertilization.

Prescription Medications

Clomiphene citrate (Clomid, Seraphine) - Clomid acts on the hypothalamus and is used to increase sperm count in men with a low leven of LH (luteinizing horomone), a horomone which gives the signal to make sperm. Unfortunately, most prescription infertility medications only work about a third as well in men as in women.

Human Menopausal Gonadotropin (hMG) and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) - Injected two or three times per week, these horomones work similarly to Clomid, stimulating sperm production.

Resources

General Fertility

Fertility LifeLines (http://www.fertilitylifelines.com/)
Fertility News (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/fertility/)
Tracking You Fertility (http://www.fertilityfriend.com/)
Fertility UK (http://www.fertilityuk.org/)
Fertility Plus (http://www.fertilityplus.org/)
Fertility.com (http://www.fertility.com/international/index.jsp)
Male Infertility (http://www.ivf.com/shaban.html)
Male Infertility Specialists (http://www.maleinfertilityspecialists.com/indexNS.htm)
Female Infertility (http://www.pregnancy-info.net/female_infertility_intro.html)
Female Infertility at IntegraMed (http://www.integramed.com/inmdweb/content/cons/main.jsp)

Causes

Blocked Fallopian Tubes (http://www.advancedfertility.com/tubal.htm)
Uterine Fibroids (http://www.4woman.gov/faq/fibroids.htm)
Dilation and Curettage (http://health.yahoo.com/ency/healthwise/tw1469)
Cervical Biopsy (http://www.wdxcyber.com/mcervix.htm)
Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (http://www.4woman.gov/faq/pcos.htm)
Hormone Imbalance (http://www.fertilityjourney.com/aboutFertility/femaleInfertility/hormonalImbalance/index.asp)
Ovarian Cysts (http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/ovariancysts/a/ovariancysts.htm)

Medications

Clomid (Clomiphene Citrate, Serophene) (http://infertility.about.com/cs/clomi1/a/Clomid.htm)
Follistim (http://www.follistim.com/consumer/index.asp)
Crinone (Progesterone Vaginal Gel) (http://www.medicinenet.com/progesterone_gel-vaginal/article.htm)
Gonal-F (Fallitropin alfa injections) (http://www.fertilitylifelines.com/serono/products/gonalf/pen/)
Heparin (http://www.sharedjourney.com/articles/hep.html)
Pergonal, Humegon, and Menopur (http://www.druginfonet.com/humegon.htm)
Metrodin (FSH) (http://www.infertilityphysician.com/ovulation/metrodin.html)
Mucus Problems (http://infertility.about.com/od/femalefactors/a/cervicalmucous.htm)

Conception Methods

In Vitro Fertilization at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_fertilization)
IVF Connections (http://www.ivfconnections.com/)
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) (http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/iui.html)
Surrogacy (http://www.everythingsurrogacy.com/)