What does the evidence say about Chinese medicine and its impact on IVF outcomes? In this talk, attendees will learn the current state of the evidence, and how to interpret it for patients and colleagues. I will review the most recent literature looking at acupuncture and its associated modalities and their impact on assisted reproductive technology. The acupuncture-only research will be compared and contrasted with Whole-Systems TCM (WSTCM), a complex intervention incorporating acupuncture, diet and lifestyle modifications, dietary supplements, and sometimes Chinese herbs. I will describe differences between various adjuvant treatments: acupuncture+IVF, WSTCM+IVF, and IVF alone and how these adjuvant therapies impact outcomes. I will then present how to interpret the current scientific evidence on Fresh Non-Donor and Donor IVF cycles.
Learning Objectives:
- Overview current research literature on acupuncture’s impact on assisted reproductive technology
- Present research on the impact of Whole Systems Traditional Chinese Medicine on IVF
- Compare and Contrast research outcomes of Acupuncture-only studies with Whole Systems Traditional Chinese Medicine studies
Lee Hullender Rubin, DAOM, LAc, FABORM, is a clinician, international academic, and published researcher specializing in reproductive medicine, women's health, and female sexual pain. She graduated with her Master of Science degree from Bastyr University and her Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM). In practice since early 2002, she spent more than 5 years managing an acupuncture program at a western fertility clinic in the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Hullender Rubin was the first OCOM postdoctoral research fellow funded by a National Institutes of Health educational grant. Her most recent publication is the first study to report an increase in birth outcomes associated with the addition of Traditional Chinese Medicine to In Vitro Fertilization. She was recently awarded a National Vulvodynia Association grant to investigate the feasibility of acupuncture and lidocaine to treat chronic vulvar pain. She is on the faculty at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and New Zealand School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and is Visiting Research Faculty at the Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Hullender Rubin currently resides in Portland, Oregon, and practices at the Portland Acupuncture Studio (http://www.pdxacustudio.com) and Oregon Reproductive Medicine.
Lee offers the following online reproductive medicine courses through Pro D Seminars approved for CEU/PDA/CPD:
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Overview for the Chinese Medicine Professional (3 hours CEU/PDA)
- Improve IVF or Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation Outcomes with Adjuvant Whole Systems TCM (4 hours CEU/PDA)
- Improve Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) or Fresh Donor Cycles Outcomes with Adjuvant Whole Systems TCM – (4 hours CEU/PDA)
- Improve Medicated and Natural IUI Cycles Outcomes With Adjuvant Whole Systems TCM (3 hours CEU/PDA)
- Learn How Acupuncture Improves IVF Success and How To Effectively Communicate the Research to Patients and Doctors (5 CEU/PDA/CPD)