Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share When Standard IVF Isn’t Enough: How One Fertility Doctor Thinks Differently
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
When Standard IVF Isn’t Enough: How One Fertility Doctor Thinks Differently
If you’ve been told “this is just your protocol,” “we’ll just try again,” or “everything looks fine” while IVF keeps failing, this episode is for you. Standard IVF works for many people, but not for everyone. So what happens when you don’t fit the usual box?
In this conversation, I’m joined by Dr. Pietro Bortoletto, reproductive endocrinologist at Terra Fertility. He trained at Northwestern, Brigham & Women’s / Mass General, and Weill Cornell, and now focuses on the hard cases: diminished ovarian reserve, recurrent implantation failure, recurrent pregnancy loss, endometriosis, fibroids, and Müllerian anomalies.
We talk about:
Why he stepped out of the traditional IVF system
How real experts think “outside the box” without going fringe
When surgery actually helps (and when it’s just more trauma)
The role of endometriosis, inflammation, and the immune system in fertility
What thoughtful immunologic workups look like (and when they’re not useful)
When to seek a second opinion and how to do it respectfully
Mindset tools for staying sane when the road is long and uncertain
This is not personal medical advice. It is a window into how a well‑trained REI thinks when standard IVF isn’t working, so you can have better, deeper conversations with your own team.
🔗 If you’re in treatment, using donors, or considering surrogacy and want more support with the emotional and decision‑making side of this journey, that’s exactly what we do inside The Building Your Family Community. You’ll find the link in the description.
Guest resources:
Website: https://www.terrafertility.com/
#IVF #Fertility #Infertility #FertilityTreatment #DiminishedOvarianReserve
#RecurrentImplantationFailure #RecurrentPregnancyLoss #Endometriosis
#FertilityDoctor #FertilitySupport #FertilityJourney #IVFSupport
#TryingToConceive #FertilityClinic #FamilyBuilding
View all episodes
By Lisa Schuman
5
1313 ratings
If you’ve been told “this is just your protocol,” “we’ll just try again,” or “everything looks fine” while IVF keeps failing, this episode is for you. Standard IVF works for many people, but not for everyone. So what happens when you don’t fit the usual box?
In this conversation, I’m joined by Dr. Pietro Bortoletto, reproductive endocrinologist at Terra Fertility. He trained at Northwestern, Brigham & Women’s / Mass General, and Weill Cornell, and now focuses on the hard cases: diminished ovarian reserve, recurrent implantation failure, recurrent pregnancy loss, endometriosis, fibroids, and Müllerian anomalies.
We talk about:
Why he stepped out of the traditional IVF system
How real experts think “outside the box” without going fringe
When surgery actually helps (and when it’s just more trauma)
The role of endometriosis, inflammation, and the immune system in fertility
What thoughtful immunologic workups look like (and when they’re not useful)
When to seek a second opinion and how to do it respectfully
Mindset tools for staying sane when the road is long and uncertain
This is not personal medical advice. It is a window into how a well‑trained REI thinks when standard IVF isn’t working, so you can have better, deeper conversations with your own team.
🔗 If you’re in treatment, using donors, or considering surrogacy and want more support with the emotional and decision‑making side of this journey, that’s exactly what we do inside The Building Your Family Community. You’ll find the link in the description.
Guest resources:
Website: https://www.terrafertility.com/
#IVF #Fertility #Infertility #FertilityTreatment #DiminishedOvarianReserve
#RecurrentImplantationFailure #RecurrentPregnancyLoss #Endometriosis
#FertilityDoctor #FertilitySupport #FertilityJourney #IVFSupport
#TryingToConceive #FertilityClinic #FamilyBuilding
More shows like Building your family
View all
This American Life
91,018 Listeners
Thanks For Asking
13,251 Listeners
The Egg Whisperer Show
244 Listeners
As a Woman
1,111 Listeners
Infertile AF: Infertility and Modern Family Building through ART
485 Listeners
Fertility Docs Uncensored
285 Listeners
Consider This from NPR
6,415 Listeners
The Inconceivably Connected Podcast: DNA Stories from Donor Conceived People
18 Listeners