Beyond AMH

IVF gives patients a lot of numbers, but not always enough context to understand what those numbers actually mean. In this episode of Beyond AMH, Dr. Marc Sklar is joined by fertility specialist and Gen 5 Fertility Center president Dr. Samuel Wood to look more closely at IVF protocols, age, AMH, embryo development, and what may be learned from an unsuccessful cycle. They discuss why IVF treatment should be individualized, what AMH can and cannot tell you, why embryos may develop differently between day three and day five, and how much the laboratory and embryology team can influence an IVF outcome. Dr. Wood also shares his work in ovarian rejuvenation and his perspective on where fertility science may be heading next. In this episode, we discuss: Why IVF protocols should be individualized and closely monitored What age and AMH really tell us about fertility Why two patients with similar numbers can have very different outcomes What IVF can and cannot overcome Day-three versus day-five embryos Why the IVF…

Fertility struggles rarely exist in isolation from the rest of your health. For many women, the journey to conceive comes after years of painful periods, fatigue, digestive symptoms, brain fog, hormonal changes, metabolic issues, or simply knowing something in their body doesn’t feel right and struggling to get answers. In this episode of Beyond AMH, Dr. Marc Sklar is joined by internationally recognized hormone expert, nutrition scientist, and bestselling author Dr. Jolene Brighten for a wide-ranging conversation about endometriosis, inflammation, metabolic health, ADHD in women, hormones, and fertility. They explore why endometriosis can affect far more than periods and pelvic pain, how inflammation and metabolic health may influence reproductive function, and why body size alone tells us very little about metabolic health. They also discuss the emerging research around ADHD and women’s hormones, including how symptoms may change throughout the menstrual cycle and different hormonal stages of life. Above…

Trying to conceive can take up far more mental and emotional space than most people expect. The waiting. The symptom checking. The constant decisions. The hope that this month might be different. The disappointment when it isn’t. The comparisons, age pressure, relationship strain, and feeling like your brain never truly switches off. In this episode of Beyond AMH, Dr. Marc Sklar is joined by psychologist, mindfulness teacher, and author Elisha Goldstein for a conversation about the hidden mental load of fertility struggles and what may help when TTC begins to feel emotionally consuming. Rather than telling people to “just relax” or stay positive, Marc and Elisha explore why uncertainty can send the mind into repetitive emotional loops, how stress can show up physically in the body, and how becoming more aware of those patterns may create space for a different response. Elisha also shares the four-step framework from his book Tiny Shifts: Recognize, Release, Refocus, and Reinforce. Together, they explore how…

Age is one of the biggest sources of fear in fertility. Women are constantly told that time is running out, egg quality is declining, and decisions need to be made quickly. But while age absolutely matters, it is only one part of a much bigger fertility picture. In this episode of Beyond AMH, Dr. Marc Sklar is joined by fertility expert, licensed acupuncturist, bestselling author, and Rejoova co-founder Aimee Raupp for a conversation about egg quality, fertility after 35 and 40, low AMH, inflammation, metabolic health, nutrition, stress, and the factors that may influence reproductive health beyond chronological age. Marc and Aimee explore why fertility decisions are so often made from fear, what chronic stress may be doing physiologically, and why Aimee believes women need a more complete understanding of their fertility than age, AMH, and ovarian reserve alone. They also discuss some of the areas that may be overlooked during fertility treatment, including insulin resistance, inflammation, autoimmune…

Trying to conceive can slowly become the center of your life. Appointments, test results, treatment decisions, waiting, disappointment, and the pressure to keep going can leave you emotionally exhausted and disconnected from yourself. In this episode of Beyond AMH, Dr. Marc Sklar is joined by Jennifer Edmonds, a fertility yoga and meditation teacher whose own journey included an early menopause diagnosis, multiple IVF cycles, pregnancy loss, chronic insomnia, and eventually two successful pregnancies. Jen shares how fertility struggles affected her sleep, relationships, emotional wellbeing, and trust in her body, as well as the practices that helped her begin reconnecting with herself during an incredibly difficult season. Marc and Jen also explore the emotional toll of highly medicalized fertility care, nervous system regulation, cycle awareness, gentle movement, creativity, and the importance of supporting the whole person rather than focusing only on procedures and test results. In this episode, we…

If you’ve ever sat in a doctor’s office and felt like your entire fertility journey was being reduced to a single number on a lab report, Beyond AMH was created for you. In this introductory episode, Dr. Marc Sklar shares why he created Beyond AMH, what the name really means, and the conversations he believes are missing from traditional fertility care. After more than two decades working in fertility, Marc has seen how easily a person’s journey can become defined by an AMH result, age, diagnosis, IVF outcome, or treatment protocol. But fertility is much bigger than any one number. It includes your physical health, emotional wellbeing, relationships, identity, treatment decisions, uncertainty, grief, and all the questions that don’t always fit neatly into a fertility appointment. Beyond AMH was created to make space for those conversations. In this episode: Why Marc created Beyond AMH Why your fertility cannot be defined by AMH, age, or a single diagnosis The conversations Marc felt were missing from…