Doveras Review: How Maria & Jonathan Are Using The Pre-Pregnancy Clean Up

When Doveras asked me to share my thoughts on the Pre-Pregnancy Clean Up for others considering trying the program, I was so excited! To be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect going in. But it hit every question I’ve ever had about holistic fertility and also answered SO many I didn’t even know to ask. This was the program I didn’t know I needed, and I still think about what I learned all the time. 

A bit about me: I live in California and work as a designer, but my passion is nutrition and I support clients with general nutrition on the side. I’ve been trying to conceive for 6 months and was frustrated that it hadn’t happened yet.

Then I found Doveras. Here are 3 big things that stick out about the experience:

From scrolling on Instagram, lurking on Reddit, and even reading some of the classic fertility books, I thought I had a pretty good idea of the holistic and lifestyle aspects of supporting natural fertility. But this program totally overhauled my mindset around trying to conceive and optimizing fertility. 

The first moment I can remember thinking this was during onboarding, when they ask you whether you’re open to "early" evidence or only want recommendations based on tried and true "established" evidence. They then filter the information for you accordingly. NO ONE on the internet is transparent about how strong the science is on various topics. In fact it’s usually quite the opposite — influencers make you feel like everything is urgent and the silver bullet solution that will get you pregnant. 

What I loved about the "early" versus "established" evidence rating is that Doveras made me feel empowered to make decisions right for me. They never tell you “oh this is terrible” or “you’re a terrible person for putting this in your body.” They’ve done a great job of being super transparent and saying to the user, hey, here’s the information, make choices for yourself. 

Similarly, when you get your personalized set of top recommendations, they introduce the idea that some interventions are more impactful than others. They help you focus on the top impact actions for your fertility health based on what their science database says is relevant for your profile. This was so different from my previous approach of basically taking shots in the dark about what will work for me.

⁠The other two big mindsets behind the program are the “80/20 Rule” and the “3 Pillars of Fertility Health.” The 80/20 Rule is the idea that there is no “perfect” fertility lifestyle; the goal is to live your life and make choices that benefit fertility health most of the time. That honestly took so much pressure off and really helped me deal with some of the guilt I used to feel when I wanted to have a glass of wine or other indulgences like that. Now, whenever I start to get overly perfectionist, my husband turns to me and just goes "80/20!"

The 3 PIllars also helped me feel less anxious. The 3 Pillars of Fertility Health is Doveras' main mental model and includes “nutrition”, “toxins”, and “wellness.” These pillars reflect their review of the science and what it shows matters most for fertility. After years of following influencers I had a million one-off little things to do in my head, but the 3 Pillars framework made preparing my body for pregnancy feel more holistic and way less overwhelming. 

Beyond these big frameworks, it's also worth mentioning that I noticed throughout small learnings that countered things I thought were true from Instagram that are just not — from how to think about “hormone balancing” to how to think about supplements. I don’t really listen to fertility influencers anymore and ended up unfollowing many. I just started being able to see through a lot of their bad science. It made me look at fertility social media differently. 

As someone very into wellness and holistic health, this program was obviously exactly what I wanted. My husband, however, is the complete opposite. I can make us a healthy dinner and then he’ll go grab chips as a late-night snack. He also is around chemicals all day and wasn’t doing his part by taking his vitamins.

Doing the Clean Up together totally changed his view. As we were going through the program, it was huge for him to have all these professors from Harvard and Stanford telling him what to do (so I didn’t have to do the nagging). I think he is taking his role in our fertility journey more seriously as a result. I honestly don’t think either of us realized how much his lifestyle also contributes to the fertility equation until this program.  

As someone who coaches people on nutrition, I was honestly shocked by how much I learned about food and supplements through this program. You won’t just get typical “eat healthy” guidelines — there is a lot of nutritional nuance I didn’t realize applied to fertility. 

I learned a lot about how things like blood sugar, gut health, inflammation, oxidative stress and so much more are linked to fertility. This shifted how I approach fertility nutrition. It’s not about “boosting this low hormone” or “eating with your cycle.” Instead its about going after the biological systems at the root of our fertility. 

Oh, and did I mention the personal recommendations they shared made me realize I wanted to completely change my supplement routine? They really break down what is worth taking and what makes sense to skip, and beyond that they help you sort through the science on the all the confusing nutrient forms (methylated folate or folic acid?!). I don’t take a million vitamins anymore and save a bunch of money each month. Needless to say, my husband is happy. And an update: he now takes his supplements too.