Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday

Send us Fan Mail Can you actually get pregnant at 50? The headlines never tell you the number that matters most: how old was the egg? In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols breaks down what is really behind those “pregnant at 50” headlines — and why the same story can mean completely different biology depending on the details nobody reports. In this episode: 🌮 Why there ar...

Send us Fan Mail Most people think of the menstrual cycle as bleeding, cramps, cycle day one, or an app prediction. But the period is really the final report — not the main event. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols explains the menstrual cycle from the ovary’s point of view. Learn how the brain, ovary, and uterus communicate each month, why one follicle becomes dominant...

Send us Fan Mail Progesterone-in-oil shots, also known as PIO shots, are one of the most feared and hated parts of IVF. They are uncomfortable, intimidating, and often leave patients wondering: “Do I really need this, or is my fertility doctor just being cruel?” In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols explains why progesterone matters for implantation, how estrogen and proge...

Send us Fan Mail Can your embryo fall out after an embryo transfer? Do you really need bed rest after IVF? Can walking, peeing, coughing, laughing, going up stairs, having stress, or riding home in the car ruin your chances? In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols breaks down one of the most common fears patients have after embryo transfer: whether one wrong move can preven...

Send us Fan Mail Fertility advice can be wrong even when the person giving it meant well. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols explores how reassurance, incomplete evaluations, and well-intentioned attempts to “save money” can sometimes delay the fertility care patients actually need. This episode looks at the emotional stress patients feel when they realize they may hav...

Send us Fan Mail A semen analysis is one of the most important fertility tests, but for many patients, it is also one of the most awkward. In this episode, Dr. Mark Amols walks through what to expect at a semen analysis appointment, how to prepare, what happens during collection, and why this test gives fertility clinics such valuable information. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , D...

Send us Fan Mail Fertility misinformation on Instagram and social media can make patients feel like their doctor missed something important. In this episode, Dr. Mark Amols breaks down fertility fear-mongering, IVF myths, unnecessary fertility testing, and how scary medical advice can turn real concerns into panic. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Amols explains how patients ca...

Send us Fan Mail PCOS has officially been renamed PMOS , or Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome — but does the new name actually change the way patients are diagnosed and treated? In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols explains why polycystic ovary syndrome was always a misleading name, how PCOS got its name from the historic Stein-Leventhal description, and why the “...

Send us Fan Mail AMH is one of the most misunderstood fertility blood tests. Many patients hear that their AMH is low and immediately worry that they cannot get pregnant, that their eggs are bad, or that menopause is right around the corner. But AMH does not tell the whole fertility story. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols explains what AMH really measures and what it...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols breaks down new research on male obesity and fertility and explains why a man’s weight may matter more in IVF than many people realize. This study looked at donor egg ICSI cycles and found that male obesity was associated with delayed early embryo development, lower inner cell mass quality, and a higher miscarriage ra...

Send us Fan Mail Many patients assume that if they have gotten pregnant naturally before, IVF should be simple. But IVF and natural conception are not the same process. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols explains why IVF is incredibly powerful, but still cannot perfectly duplicate every hidden filter, timing system, and biological checkpoint that happens inside the bod...

Send us Fan Mail Why can two embryos both be genetically normal, both be labeled AA, and even be tested by the same genetics company… yet still have very different chances of leading to pregnancy? In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols breaks down one of the biggest misunderstandings in IVF: the idea that “normal” means “equal.” He explains what PGT-A really tells us, why...

Send us Fan Mail Why do IUIs fail, even when everything seems to be done right? In this updated episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols breaks down what a failed IUI actually means. He explains the three biggest reasons IUIs fail: sometimes it is just bad luck, sometimes IUI is the wrong treatment for the biology, and sometimes there is a hidden problem that routine fertility testin...

Send us Fan Mail In this replay episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols breaks down one of the most frustrating questions in fertility treatment: why IUIs sometimes fail even when everything seems like it should work. He explains the real success rates of IUI, why unexplained infertility is not the same as no problem, how sperm and tubes can look normal on paper but still not functi...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever thought your top-tier insurance fully covered IVF, only to be hit with a $20,000 out-of-pocket bill? On this episode of Taco 'Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols pulls back the curtain on the confusing and frustrating world of reproductive medicine insurance. We break down the two biggest financial illusions in fertility care: The ERISA Loophole: Discover th...

Send us Fan Mail If you’re going through IVF, you’ve probably heard it: “Just relax.” It sounds comforting, but for many patients it feels like blame. In this episode of Taco ’Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols breaks down what stress actually does during fertility treatment, what it does not do, and why the science does not support the simplistic idea that anxiety is what makes IVF fail. He...

Send us Fan Mail What does a messed-up Chipotle order have to do with a disappointing IVF cycle? More than you might think. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols uses the burrito analogy to explain an important concept in fertility treatment: one bad outcome does not automatically mean the entire plan was wrong. Sometimes the issue is not the whole recipe, but one part of...

Send us Fan Mail For thousands of years, humans have tried to influence whether they have a boy or a girl. From ancient myths about moon phases and food choices to modern scientific techniques, the desire to choose a baby’s sex has never gone away. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols breaks down the real science behind sex selection and separates fact from fiction. You’...

Send us Fan Mail If you’re 38, you’ve been trying for 12 months, and every test comes back “normal,” this episode is your step-by-step game plan for what to do next. “Unexplained infertility” isn’t a diagnosis—it’s a sign we haven’t found the real bottleneck yet, and at 38, time is a real variable. We walk through the highest-yield checklist to confirm what’s truly been evaluated (ovulation, uteri...

Send us Fan Mail When you see a fertility doctor, you’re usually offered two paths: IUI or IVF. But what if there’s a middle ground? In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols breaks down IntraVaginal Culture (IVC) — a treatment where your body becomes the incubator. At our clinic, we call the device the “Baby Pod,” and it offers a meaningful step up from IUI without the full c...

Send us Fan Mail Every IVF patient has wondered it at least once:    Is my embryo really mine? Every so often, a story makes headlines about an IVF mix-up. While these cases are heartbreaking, they are extraordinarily rare — occurring approximately 1–2 times per million IVF births. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols breaks down: How IVF labs prevent embryo mix-ups The r...

Send us Fan Mail You were told your embryo was “perfect.”  It was euploid. Genetically normal. The best one. So why didn’t it work? In this episode, Dr. Mark Amols breaks down the truth behind PGT testing and explains why even genetically normal embryos can fail to implant or result in miscarriage. You’ll learn: What PGT-A actually tests (and what it doesn’t) The difference between chromosomal abn...

Send us Fan Mail For years, fertility medications were one of the biggest and least controllable costs in IVF—sometimes costing more than the procedure itself. Then, almost overnight, prices dropped by nearly 50%. In this episode, Dr. Mark Amols explains what actually caused this dramatic shift, how government policy and pharmaceutical competition reshaped pricing, and why this change is already a...

Send us Fan Mail IVF terms like back-to-back cycles , DuoStim , double stimulation , and accelerated IVF are often used interchangeably—but they don’t mean the same thing. And confusing them can lead to unrealistic expectations. In this episode of Taco ’Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols breaks down what these terms actually mean, how they differ, and—most importantly—when one approach may ma...

Send us Fan Mail Fertility tests can look perfect on paper—and pregnancy still doesn’t happen. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols breaks down why many fertility treatments, especially IUI , are built on assumptions rather than certainty. Tests like the HSG can confirm that fallopian tubes are open, but they cannot prove that the tubes are functional. Semen analysis can...