Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday

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...

Send us Fan Mail In 2023, we asked a simple question: Should embryo glue be used routinely in IVF? Since then, more studies have been published, larger analyses have been completed, and the evidence has matured. In this episode, we revisit embryo glue with fresh eyes — separating what hasn’t changed from what actually has. We discuss why embryo glue is now clearly shown to be non-inferior to stand...

Send us Fan Mail This is a replay of our 2023 episode on embryo glue. The discussion reflects the evidence available at that time. A lot has changed since this episode was first released. Listen again — because next week we’ll be back with a brand-new episode covering newer data and updated evidence you won’t want to miss. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when an embryo never even makes it to the report? In this week’s episode of Taco About Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols tackles the complicated world of high-level mosaic embryos —the lesser-known, often misunderstood siblings of low-level mosaics. Learn why some labs label these embryos as “aneuploid,” why others report them as “mosaic,” and how that single label c...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols breaks down one of the most overlooked problems in modern fertility care: the hidden harm of overcalling mosaic embryos. We begin with a surprising math puzzle from a 2023 study by Dr. Jonah Bardos in Fertility & Sterility , where the lab reporting the highest euploid rate also had the highest live birth rate —a r...

Send us Fan Mail In this eye-opening episode, Dr. Amols tackles a question most patients are too embarrassed to ask out loud: Does getting a second opinion mean you’re cheating on your fertility doctor? Inspired by a real patient interaction, he breaks down why fertility care feels so personal, why patients often feel guilty seeking outside input, and why no confident doctor should ever take it pe...

Send us Fan Mail Why do eggs that look perfect on retrieval day sometimes lead to poor embryos, failed implantation, or no pregnancy at all? If your clinic once told you your eggs “look great,” only to later say the cycle failed due to an egg issue… you’re not alone. And no, your doctor didn’t lie to you. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols unpacks one of the biggest mi...

Send us Fan Mail IUI is simple—but the expectations, emotions, and math behind it definitely aren’t. In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols walks you through exactly what to expect during an IUI cycle, from the first ultrasound to the trigger shot to the quick, 30-second insemination appointment. You’ll learn who IUI works best for, why success rates aren’t as straightforw...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when IVF success leaves you with more embryos than you ever planned for?  In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday , Dr. Mark Amols tackles the emotional and practical side of “extra embryos.” He explains why the U.S. system often pushes patients to create as many embryos as possible — and how cost, culture, and regulation shape that pressure. You’ll learn the p...