Scroll with Caution: Fertility Advice from the Internet (and Why It Might Be Wrong for You)

In this episode of Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday, Dr. Mark Amols dives into the world of online fertility advice—from Facebook groups to TikTok trends—and explores why some well-meaning suggestions can actually do more harm than good. You’ll hear real stories of patients misled by online advice, the dangers of taking recommendations out of context, and how to become your own best advocate without falling into the misinformation trap.

Discover which sources you can actually trust (hint: it’s not IVFQueen2020) and how to balance curiosity with clarity in your fertility journey. Whether you’ve gone down the Google rabbit hole or just want to avoid being scared by strangers on the internet, this episode is for you.

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of 'Taco Bout Fertility Tuesday' with Dr. Mark Amols. If you found this episode insightful, please share it with friends and family who might benefit from our discussion. Remember, your feedback is invaluable to us – leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred listening platform.

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Join us next Tuesday for more discussions on fertility, where we blend medical expertise with a touch of humor to make complex topics accessible and engaging. Until then, keep the conversation going and remember: understanding your fertility is a journey we're on together.

Chapters

• 1:04 Not all Scrolls are Bad Scrolls
• 2:00 When Likes Replace Literature
• 5:04 Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes
• 7:51 Talk, Ask, Learn, but Bring Your Filter
• 10:13 Trust, Verify, and Breathe

Transcript

0:01

Today we talk about what happens when Dr. Google Meets Facebook fertility guru and how to know who to trust when you're overwhelmed with a vice. I'm, Dr. Mark Amols and this is Taco about Fertility Tuesday. Let's face it, we've all been there. You leave your fertility appointment, get in your car, and before you even pull out the parking lot, you're already goingling what you just talked about. To make it worse, you land in the Facebook group and someone named IVF Queen 2020 tells you your protocol is completely wrong. So in today's podcast, we're going to dive into why. Advice from forums and TikTok can sometimes be helpful, but more often than not may be steering you off course and what to do instead. Not all scrolls are bad scrolls. Let me be very clear. I am not here to tell you to not talk to people or to stop learning. I actually believe you should be an advocate for yourself. Support groups and online communities can be very powerful. In fact, A study from BMC Women's Health found that over 60% fertility patients use social media for support and 39% engaged daily. That's a huge number. People find comfort in knowing that they're not alone, that other people are going through what they're going through. These spaces provide real emotional support, ideas and the sense of community. So sometimes the best thing someone here isn't. Here's what worked for me, but it's more. It's me too but. And it's a big but. Support doesn't always mean it's scientific when likes replace literature. So let's talk about misinformation. Maven clinic analyzed TikTok videos under the hashtag ttcing trying to conceive and found that 40% contained misinformation. Things like incorrect ovulation timing, bad cervical mucus ofice, or completely wrong ideas about basal body temperature. And what will blow your mind is some of these TikTok videos were even from clinics. When it comes to Facebook, the vice and Facebook groups is often anecdotal and unmoneated. Someone says, my doctor transferred to and Rose and I got twins. You should ask for two. But maybe you have a history of incompetent cervix and putting back two embryos could be dangerous for you. Maybe you have a BIC coronate uterus and it wouldn't be safe to put back too. Maybe they're like 25 years old and got pregnant on their very first transfer. But you're 41 and you only have two embryos and don't want to take that risk. The point is when you get aice, but it's not with context. It's like getting a prescription without looking at the person's chart. It's the medical equivalent of someone handing you a pair of shoes and saying, hey, these fit me, so they should fit you too. But if that was true, you really wouldn't need doctors. If everything was just, oh, it works for them. It works for everyone. Then all of medicine would be an algorithm. But it's not. Context matters a lot. I have people come up to me all the time, and they will ask me fertility questions, and they're like, what do you think of this protocol? And I tell, them it could be amazing. It could be wrong. I need to see the whole chart to people to tell you if that's the right protocol for you. Now, clearly there are bad protocols. If someone told me, hey, I take cyanide with my protocol, I'd say, well, that's pretty dangerous. I don't want you to die. But there are people out there who unfortunately think they know more than they do. And sometimes they get bad advice. I remember one patient came in, freaked out because she was taking Clomid and we weren't looking with ultrasound. And she said, oh, my God. Everyone in the group says, like, I should leave you because I could end, up having, like, eight babies in me. And how it's so dangerous to not be looking with an ultrasound. And I said to her, you're, taking a low dose of Clomid. The chance of you having multiples is so low. That's why OB doctors give out Clomid because it's very, very safe. The group wasn't wrong. Yes, there are times it is dangerous to be doing stimulation and not looking for the follicles on the ultrasound, but this situation did not fit that. Another example I have is where a patient was freaked out because she saw another doctor, and they said, oh, I can't believe that the other doctor didn't make you have genetic care screening. But the patient was using donor sperm, and that was already tested and had no genetic care screenings that came back positive. Which means even if she did come back with something positive, it would have zero effect. Context matters. Good intentions, bad outcomes. Bad device isn't just wrong, it can actually be harmful. One of the worst cases of this is when I had a patient who was doing a frozen embro transfer, got pregnant, and this was a really difficult case, and they only had two embryos. And so we were so excited that she was pregnant, and then one day she came in bleeding heavy. And anytime someone's bleeding, it's very unusual with a thro transfer because we're giving them progesterone. So other than, a subrary hemorrhage, it's very weird to just bleed and lo the pregnancy. And so we always like to check up progesterone level just to make sure we're not missing something. And her progesterone level was zero. And I asked her, I go, it doesn't make sense. Why is your progesterone zero? You're still taking your progesterone. Correct? And she said to me, oh, well, the girls online told me that when they did their transfer, they were able to stop their progesterone right away because their clin only goes until the positive pregnancy test. And I said, yes, but that was a fresh transfer. And then in your situation, you did a frozen transfer. And unfortunately, she lost the pregnancy. I've seen patients even delay their IVF cycle because they were told they weren't ready and that they group thinks they should wait. Others waste money on supplements that do nothing. And in some cases, people actually push for unproven treatments that won't help them. But because someone in the group said it's the only thing that worked, they wanted to do it. Now, I appreciate something here. It is extremely stressful going through fertility. The fear that you are not going to be pregnant is so strong that, yes, you will listen to anyone. You will eat rocks if that will get you pregnant. My point here is not to tell you that you are not smart for listening to people. You should. You should listen to everyone. The point here is that the loudest voices may not be the smartest ones. Blog posts, forums, and influencer videos, they're all the top because they're popular, not because they're medically sound. Matter of fact, as doctors, we're pretty boring. And I bet most of the stuff we put out is pretty boring, like this podcast. I'm sure there are some people will go, oh, this'so boring's so medical. And I have no doubt that every single person who gives a vi had great intentions. But that doesn't mean good intentions can't have bad outcomes. There's actually studies, one from ScienceDirect that showed that relying on the Internet as your only source of information will increase your distress and cause more confusion. And that's the opposite of what you want. Talk, ask, learn, but bring your filter. As I keep continuing to say it's okay to advocate for yourself. In fact, I want you to, I want your ears wide open. I want you to talk to everyone. But again, bring your filter. The secret is knowing how to separate the support from the strategy. So the question is, what's the filter? The first thing I'll tell you is your provider. I don't care if you're even listening to me. You always talk to your provider. Because even I don't know your context. I actually had a patient today who said something about, oh, in this podcast you said to do this and I said, oh, wait, wait, wait, that is generic. I don't do my podcasts as if I'm running my clinic. I do my podcast that anyone who can listen to it from any clinic can get these ideas. But you always still talk to your doctor in this situation. I told her that wasn't true for her, even though I talked about in the podcast because her context was different. So the number one person to go to is always going to be your physician. And here's a quick rule. If it didn't come from your medical history, your lab results, or your doctor's approval, it's not the treatment plan. It's just a suggestion. So then where can you get trustworthy info? Well, there are some really good places. I do believe my podcast is a place that you can get trusted info because I don't give suggestions. I like to present the information for people to take in and then they can talk to their doctor. And that's why you always hear me say, talk to your doctor. Other trusted sources are going to be asrm, so they have evidence based answers to questions. You can Even go to reproductivefacts.org which is also ASRM's patient education site. There's mayolinic.org which has information on there. But when I was there, there are, multiple committees that look through everything that make sure everything is correct. There's resolve.org comm which has advocacy and as well as emotional support and trusted resources. The CDC is a place you can go as well. Even information from your provider's website or again, podcasts that either your provider or clinic recommends. Trust, verify and breathe. So where do we go from here? Well, you're not wrong from wanting to learn. You're not wrong for needing support and you're not wrong for asking questions. But the best fertility plan is the one that was made for you. Not a post, not a blog, not, a TikTok reel of your favorite influencer. Always remember, you are your best advocate and your doctor were your guide. So read, ask, share, but always come back to the people who know your journey, who know the context, and they are re going to be able to guide you in the right direction. So the point is, don't be afraid to go on forums, don't be afraid to search Google. Just make sure you come back to your provider who can then help guide you which things are good and which when things are not. The Internet is loud, but your story deserves some clarity. So scroll wisely and when in doubt, let science have the final word in your fertility journey. Hopefully this podcast was helpful to you. Maybe you have a friend who's going through this and they're running into that scrolling behavior where they're looking through everything. Maybe you've been told by IVF Queen 2020 that your cycle is going bad and that your estrogen level is too low, but in reality they don't understand that maybe you're on Letrozole and that's why your'actuallyn level is low. The point of this podcast is just to remind everyone there is nothing wrong going in these groups going on Google. Just make sure you come back to your doctor. You're not stressing about it because then they can let you know what really matters and what doesn't because they know the context. If you like this podcast, please tell your friends about it. And if you love us, give us a five star review on your favorite medium. Most important thing is to keep coming back. I look forward to talking to you again next week on Talk About Fertility Tuesday.