The Fertility Answers Podcast

In this special and timely podcast, your host Dr. Neil Chappell is joined by fellow Fertility Answers reproductive endocrinologist Dr. John Storment to discuss the February 2024 Alabama Supreme Court ruling that deemed frozen embryos as children with legal status. This ruling came about after several Alabama couples sued for wrongful death of a minor when their embryos were accidentally destroyed by a person who wandered into an IVF lab. Dr. Chappell and Dr. Storment discuss IVF lab security as well as what an embryo represents for the potential of life and the possible downstream consequences of granting an embryo the same status as a living child.

Women with insulin resistance not only struggle with their overall health but their fertility as well. Join your host Dr. Neil Chappell as he delves into the intricate relationship between insulin resistance and fertility. Learn the science behind insulin resistance, the best way to test for it and how this condition not only affects your metabolism and other important bodily functions, but also reproduction. Discover actionable strategies you can use against insulin resistance through diet, exercise and pharmacology to improve your overall health, optimize fertility and achieve your goal of parenthood.

Join Dr. Neil Chappell in this entertaining and candid conversation with Olympian and former LSU track star Lolo Jones on her recent egg freezing journey with Fertility Answers. Approaching her 40th birthday and still single, Lolo feared she was running out of time to have children. Listen as they walk through her process of searching for information about egg freezing, costs and testing involved, and what her expectations were going in compared to how it actually all went down. After going through two egg freezing cycles, Lolo has a lot of information to share!

Marijuana and THC use has gained followers in recent years as many states have legalized it for medicinal or recreational purposes. But, there are still many questions surrounding how marijuana and THC can affect the fertility potential of both men and women. Join Fertility Answers Podcast host reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Neil Chappell as he delves into some of the recent research that attempts to determine the possible fertility risks of THC on human reproduction. 

Progesterone is a hormone secreted after ovulation that prepares the lining of the uterus for a potential pregnancy. Because of its important role at the beginning of conception and well into pregnancy, there is often a false assumption that low levels of progesterone are responsible for all pregnancy loss. In this episode, Fertility Answers Podcast reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Neil Chappell breaks down the role of progesterone, why spot checking for this hormone can be misleading, and when and how to add progesterone therapy if recurrent miscarriage is a concern.

While most women seeking fertility treatments eventually become pregnant, a small subset are never able to medically overcome infertility and seek other avenues to a family or resolve to live childless. When is it time to say enough is enough? How do you give yourself permission to admit that you've given it your best shot, but now is the time to stop treatment? In this episode, Dr. Neil Chappell tackles the tough subject of when and how to move on from fertility treatments and how faith, family and finances can influence your decision.

There is no doubt that assisted reproductive technologies used in fertility treatment, such as intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization, have contributed to the rise in the number of twins and triplets over the last several decades. It's not uncommon for our patients to even ask for a twin pregnancy. However, multiple gestation pregnancies bring risks to both the mother and the babies due to added health issues and pre-term delivery, as well as added financial costs, often throughout the lifetime of the child. In this podcast episode, reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Neil Chappell explains what can cause multiple gestation pregnancies when using different forms of ART, and ways physicians are now bringing the incidence of twin pregnancies down to levels that correlate with natural twin rates.

The level of stress experienced by individuals and couples diagnosed with infertility is nothing to dismiss. Experts equate the distress and trauma one gets with being diagnosed as infertile the same as getting a cancer diagnosis. Join us in this special conversation with Samantha Rauber, LPC, a licensed counselor certified in perinatal mental health in the Baton Rouge area, who discusses how a diagnosis of infertility can become a real emotional crisis for many. Learn about the ways she counsels patients to deal with the stress infertility creates, tried and true coping mechanisms, how partners and others can support you, and how to deal with those who just don't get it.

If you’re an IVF patient you’ve maybe heard your fertility specialist or embryologist use the term “mosaic” to describe your embryo after genetic testing. As embryo genetic testing has advanced over the last few years, geneticists are learning that not all embryos fall neatly into the classification of either normal or abnormal, but some can fall into a spectrum in between called mosaicism. Listen as our host Dr. Neil Chappell welcomes Caroline Stites, a genetics counselor at Woman’s Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA, who helps us explain what a mosaic embryo is and what it means to you and your fertility journey.

Uterine anomalies and structural problems with the female reproductive organs, such as uterine septums, are often associated with increased miscarriage. In this episode, Dr. Neil Chappell discusses uterine anomalies with Fertility Answers patient Emma who came to our center with a history of miscarriages and a uterine septum. Find out more about what that means, what to do about it, and what the journey can look like in this all encompassing conversation about uterine anomalies.