Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday

Mark Amols, MD
  • 4.9 (130)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Weekly

This podcast presents an in-depth exploration of fertility concerns and inquiries straight from those undergoing fertility treatment. Standing apart from the usual information found online, we dive headfirst into the real science and comprehensive research behind these challenges. Amidst all this, we never forget to honor our cherished tradition - celebrating the simple joys of Taco Tuesday!

  1. 14h ago

    My Eggs Were Mature—Why Didn’t They Fertilize? Understanding IVF Attrition

    Send us Fan Mail You had 15 mature eggs and ended up with three embryos. What happened? In this episode, Dr. Mark Amols explains IVF attrition: the step-by-step drop-off from eggs retrieved, to mature eggs, to normal fertilization, to blastocysts and beyond. Your final embryo count tells you how many chances you have. Where the drop-off happened tells you what to ask about next. We cover: Why an MII (mature) egg is the starting line, not a guaranteeConventional IVF vs. ICSI, and what the evidence shows when sperm parameters are normalHow rescue ICSI differs from planned ICSIZymot, PICSI, and calcium ionophore: three tools for three different problemsLab benchmarks for fertilization and blastocyst rates, and why they aren’t a pass/fail line for one cycleThe questions to ask your physician after a disappointing cycleThis episode completes our egg maturity series (Episodes 38–40). This podcast is for education only and isn’t medical advice. Talk with your own physician about your care. Thanks for listening to another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit—and don't forget to follow the show and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Want to explore more fertility topics? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search our entire episode library, find episodes about the questions that matter to you, try our interactive fertility tools, and submit questions or topic requests for future episodes. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, where we make fertility medicine easier to understand—one topic at a time.

  2. Oct 7

    Why Were My Eggs Immature? Is the IVF Trigger to Blame?

    Send us Fan Mail Why were some of your eggs immature after an IVF retrieval—and does it mean your trigger was wrong? In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols explains what low egg maturity really means, why a report may show GV, MI, and MII eggs, and why “we triggered too early” is only one possibility—not an automatic conclusion. Not every follicle and egg develops on the same clock. Dr. Amols walks through how follicle-size patterns, trigger timing, the body’s response to the trigger, and underlying egg biology can all affect maturity. He also explains why waiting an extra day may sometimes help smaller follicles—but can also push leading follicles too far ahead. You’ll hear the practical differences between hCG, Lupron, dual triggers, and double triggers; why a dual trigger may help selected patients but is not a universal rescue plan; and how OHSS risk shapes these decisions. Most importantly, this episode gives you a clear checklist for reviewing a disappointing maturity report with your fertility team. Low maturity is frustrating—but one cycle is data, not a diagnosis, and it is not a character judgment on your ovaries. Tiny ovaries, enormous emotions. In this episode: 00:00 — Why were my eggs immature? 01:36 — GV, MI, and MII: a quick maturity refresher 02:18 — How to read an IVF lab report in the right order 04:25 — Why follicle size does not perfectly predict egg maturity 05:54 — The tradeoff: waiting for smaller follicles vs. over-maturing leaders 07:08 — When trigger timing may matter 08:57 — hCG, Lupron, dual trigger, and double trigger explained 10:36 — Does dual trigger always improve maturity? 11:57 — Nuclear maturity vs. cytoplasmic maturity 13:24 — What may change in a future cycle 15:29 — Questions to ask your clinic after low maturity 17:01 — Next episode: “My Eggs Were Mature—Why Didn’t They Fertilize?” Have a fertility question or want help understanding your IVF report? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com. This podcast is for education and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Thanks for listening to another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit—and don't forget to follow the show and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Want to explore more fertility topics? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search our entire episode library, find episodes about the questions that matter to you, try our interactive fertility tools, and submit questions or topic requests for future episodes. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, where we make fertility medicine easier to understand—one topic at a time.

  3. Sep 30

    IVF Egg Maturity Explained: GV, MI, MII, 2PN & 3PN

    Send us Fan Mail Why did 14 eggs retrieved become 10 mature eggs—and only 7 normally fertilized? In this episode, Dr. Mark Amols explains what IVF embryology reports really mean. Learn how egg meiosis works, why an MII egg is considered mature, and what GV (germinal vesicle), MI, and MII tell us about an egg’s development. We also break down polar bodies, pronuclei, normal 2PN fertilization, and what it can mean when the lab sees extra polar bodies, 0PN, 1PN, or 3PN. Most importantly: why a mature egg or normally fertilized embryo is an important checkpoint, but not a guarantee of embryo quality, euploidy, implantation, or a baby. IVF is a series of checkpoints—not one grade, one number, or one moment under the microscope. In this episode: 00:00 What does egg maturity mean in IVF? 00:29 Why retrieved eggs, mature eggs, and fertilized eggs are different counts 02:07 Meiosis: why eggs begin developing before birth 04:04 GV, MI, and MII eggs explained 06:05 Why an MII egg is ready for fertilization 08:20 Polar bodies and what they represent 09:05 Normal fertilization: 2 polar bodies and 2 pronuclei 10:10 Extra polar bodies: what they can—and cannot—mean 11:04 What 3PN fertilization means 12:08 1PN and 0PN: why timing matters 13:12 How to understand your embryology report 14:05 The fertilization-rate question patients should ask 14:41 Next week: what can cause low maturity or low fertilization? Have a fertility question for a future episode? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com. #IVF #EggMaturity #FertilityEducation Thanks for listening to another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit—and don't forget to follow the show and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Want to explore more fertility topics? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search our entire episode library, find episodes about the questions that matter to you, try our interactive fertility tools, and submit questions or topic requests for future episodes. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, where we make fertility medicine easier to understand—one topic at a time.

  4. Sep 23

    You Froze Your Eggs. Now What? Thawing, ICSI & When to Actually Use Them | Egg Freezing Part 3

    Send us Fan Mail In Part 3 of our three-part Egg Freezing Series, Dr. Mark Amols answers one of the most overlooked questions in fertility preservation: Once you are finally ready to have a baby, should you actually use your frozen eggs? The answer is not always yes. If you froze eggs when you were younger and are still relatively young with good fertility when you are ready to conceive, it may make more sense to try with your current fertility first and keep those younger frozen eggs as a backup. In this episode, we discuss:  Why frozen eggs do not automatically need to be used first  When it may make sense to leave younger eggs in storage  How current age, ovarian reserve, sperm, tubes, and family-size goals affect the decision  Why someone who froze eggs at 28 may make a very different decision at 32 than at 42  What actually happens when frozen eggs are warmed  Why previously frozen eggs are generally fertilized using ICSI  Why not every egg survives warming  Why not every surviving egg fertilizes  How eggs move through the funnel from warming → fertilization → embryo development → blastocyst → transfer Why 20 frozen eggs do not equal 20 embryos or 20 babies  When PGT-A may or may not be considered  Whether eggs lose quality simply from being stored for many years  Why the age of the egg and the age of the pregnancy are two different things  What happens if you never use your frozen eggs One of the most important takeaways from the entire series is this: Egg freezing can preserve the age of your eggs, but it cannot freeze the age of the pregnancy. And sometimes, the best outcome of freezing your eggs is that you never need to use them at all. This is Part 3 and the final episode of our Egg Freezing Series. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, start from the beginning to learn who should consider egg freezing, when it makes sense, how many eggs you may need, and what actually happens during the stimulation and retrieval process. Explore the full series, search fertility topics, and try our interactive tools at TacoBoutFertility.com. Thanks for listening to another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit—and don't forget to follow the show and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Want to explore more fertility topics? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search our entire episode library, find episodes about the questions that matter to you, try our interactive fertility tools, and submit questions or topic requests for future episodes. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, where we make fertility medicine easier to understand—one topic at a time.

  5. Sep 16

    What Really Happens When You Freeze Your Eggs? Shots, Retrieval & Vitrification | Egg Freezing Part 2

    Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of our three-part egg freezing series, we walk through the entire egg-freezing process from start to finish. What medications do you take? How long are the injections? How often do you need ultrasounds and bloodwork? What happens during the trigger shot? Does the egg retrieval hurt? And what actually happens to your eggs once they reach the embryology lab? Dr. Mark Amols explains the process step by step, including:  What AMH and antral follicle count help predict before treatment  Why fertility medications do not “use up” your future eggs  How ovarian stimulation works  What patients can expect from the injections  How follicles are monitored during the cycle  Why trigger timing is so important  How modern protocols help reduce the risk of OHSS  What happens during the egg retrieval  Why the number of follicles, eggs retrieved, and mature eggs frozen are often different  What “MII” means  How vitrification works  What recovery is like after retrieval  Why some patients may need more than one egg-freezing cycle One of the most important concepts in egg freezing is understanding the difference between follicles, retrieved eggs, mature eggs, and the eggs that are actually frozen. Egg freezing is usually a much shorter process than many people expect—but every step matters. This is Part 2 of our Egg Freezing Series. In Part 3, we answer a question that almost nobody talks about: Once you are finally ready to have a baby, should you actually use your frozen eggs—or leave them in the freezer as your backup? Explore more fertility episodes and interactive tools at TacoBoutFertility.com. Thanks for listening to another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit—and don't forget to follow the show and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Want to explore more fertility topics? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search our entire episode library, find episodes about the questions that matter to you, try our interactive fertility tools, and submit questions or topic requests for future episodes. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, where we make fertility medicine easier to understand—one topic at a time.

  6. Sep 2

    Should You Freeze Your Eggs? Best Age, AMH & How Many Eggs You Need | Egg Freezing Part 1

    Send us Fan Mail In Part 1 of our three-part egg freezing series, Dr. Mark Amols breaks down who should consider egg freezing, when it actually makes sense, and why there is no single “perfect age” or magic number of frozen eggs that guarantees a future baby. We discuss the important difference between age, AMH, and ovarian reserve—including why a high AMH does not necessarily mean better egg quality and why a low AMH does not mean your eggs are bad. You'll also learn: • Who should consider planned fertility preservation • Why freezing younger eggs is biologically better—but doesn't always mean freezing earlier is the right decision • How your desired family size changes the conversation • What AMH and antral follicle count actually tell us • How many eggs you may need to freeze • Why 10 frozen eggs at age 28 are not equivalent to 10 frozen eggs at age 40 • Why one frozen egg does not equal one future baby • When freezing embryos may make more sense than freezing eggs • Whether an egg-freezing cycle “uses up” your future eggs • What the research really says about regret after egg freezing Egg freezing isn't a guarantee and it isn't a biological time machine. Think of it as a reproductive backup plan—preserving some of the reproductive potential you have today in case you need it later. This is Part 1 of our three-part series on egg freezing. In Part 2, we'll walk through exactly what happens during an egg-freezing cycle—from the injections and monitoring to the retrieval and vitrification of your eggs. Thanks for listening to another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit—and don't forget to follow the show and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Want to explore more fertility topics? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search our entire episode library, find episodes about the questions that matter to you, try our interactive fertility tools, and submit questions or topic requests for future episodes. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, where we make fertility medicine easier to understand—one topic at a time.

  7. Trailer

    Can’t Find That Fertility Episode? Try Our New Website

    Send us Fan Mail Ever remember something from Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday and think, “Wait… which episode was that?” Now there’s an easier way to find it. Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search the entire podcast library based on the questions you’re trying to answer, browse episodes by topics like IVF, embryo transfer, PGT, IUI, egg quality, and more, or ask the podcast to help you find episodes related to a specific fertility question. We’re also adding interactive fertility tools covering topics like hCG rises, AMH, IVF success by age, PCOS criteria, and more. Don’t just listen to Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday. Explore it. Visit TacoBoutFertility.com. Thanks for listening to another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit—and don't forget to follow the show and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Want to explore more fertility topics? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search our entire episode library, find episodes about the questions that matter to you, try our interactive fertility tools, and submit questions or topic requests for future episodes. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, where we make fertility medicine easier to understand—one topic at a time.

    Can’t Find That Fertility Episode? Try Our New Website

  8. Season 8 Trailer

    Thinking About Freezing Your Eggs? New 3-Part Series

    Send us Fan Mail Thinking about freezing your eggs—or already have eggs frozen and wondering what happens next? Over the next three episodes of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, we’re taking a deep dive into egg freezing. We’ll cover who should consider freezing their eggs, when timing matters most, how many eggs you may actually need, what to expect from the medications and retrieval, and what happens years later when you’re finally ready to have a baby. Because egg freezing isn’t a guarantee, and it isn’t a time machine. It’s a backup plan. The three-part Egg Freezing Series starts Tuesday on Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday. Thanks for listening to another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who might benefit—and don't forget to follow the show and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Want to explore more fertility topics? Visit TacoBoutFertility.com, where you can search our entire episode library, find episodes about the questions that matter to you, try our interactive fertility tools, and submit questions or topic requests for future episodes. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, where we make fertility medicine easier to understand—one topic at a time.

See All (257)

Trailers

4.9
out of 5
130 Ratings

About

This podcast presents an in-depth exploration of fertility concerns and inquiries straight from those undergoing fertility treatment. Standing apart from the usual information found online, we dive headfirst into the real science and comprehensive research behind these challenges. Amidst all this, we never forget to honor our cherished tradition - celebrating the simple joys of Taco Tuesday!

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Amols, MD
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    257
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday
  • Show Website
    Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday

You Might Also Like