A composition and method for in vitro fertilization is provided which uses culture media comprising elevated concentrations of lipoic acid. More specifically, the invention provides culture media for developmental cells having a lipoic acid concentration of 5 &mu；M to 40 &mu；M. Culture media that include lipoic acid at concentrations within the identified range are able to provide blastocysts with increased survival, increased cell numbers, increased inner cell masses and/or increased percentage of the total mass made up by the inner cell compared to blastocysts cultured in a control medium.
