Campfire Medicine

Learn about the many causes of infertility and how to diagnose and treat them using naturopathic treatments. You will also learn how to support your patients who are using assisted reproductive technologies such as intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization and donor eggs.

Luteal Phase Defect

• What is a luteal phase defect? How do you define it?
• Why is the pulsatile secretion of GnRH so important?
• What conditions are associated with LPD?
• Why can’t I use serum progesterone to diagnose it?
• What is an ideal progesterone level? Does it exist?
• What are the risks of using clomiphene citrate? Does it fix or cause a LPD?
• How do I prescribe luteal start progesterone? What form of progesterone is best?
• Is melatonin safe for fertility patients?
• Are hormonal modulators or nervine herbs better for LPD?
• What kind of diet is best to treat LPD? Vegetarian? Keto? Intermittent fasting?

Webinar Sponsored by ProMedics Nutraceutical Ltd

Sperm DNA Fragmentation (SDF)

• What are the downfalls of the traditional semen analysis?
• What is sperm DNA fragmentation and how does it affect fertility?
• Does SDF affect IVF and ICSI outcomes?
• When does the “male biological clock” start ticking?
• What commonly prescribed medications can cause SDF?
• Does tight clothing really affect sperm quality? What about using laptops?
• Why don’t fertility clinics routinely screen for SDF? Who should we consider testing?
• What commonly consumed substance is likely to have an effect on male fertility that will put other environmental toxins including tobacco, to shame?

    Webinar Sponsored by Bioclinic naturals

Interview Series: Dr. Anthony Cheung MBBS MPH MBA FRANZCOG FRCSC

Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist - Founder and Medical Director Grace Fertility Centre

Dr. Cheung answers your questions about fertility, PCOS and ART and the complex world of assisted reproductive technology. We are so excited to have this special opportunity to sit with a doctor with over 25 years in this field. 

Interview: Holly Yager  M.Ed., RCC, CCC

Holly Yager is the owner of Well Woman Counselling, and a BC Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor in with a specialized focus on reproductive health and fertility.

Fertility challenges can be difficult for patients to navigate, but they come with sensitivities that clinicians often have challenges with too. Holly Yager walks us through how to approach people having trouble conceiving and provides us with invaluable tools and resources that allow us to have the right helpful conversations with our patients.

Reproductive Immunology

Reproductive immunology is a new and exciting field of medicine that may hold the keys to some of our most challenging infertility cases.  This two part webinar series discusses the various ways in which the immune system can impact fertility and gives concise strategies for diagnostic testing and treatment protocols. 

Ovarian Reserve Testing

Ovarian reserve testing is very familiar to most of us who treat women of reproductive age. But do we really understand what the results mean? This webinar covers the most common ovarian reserve tests in detail and provides a clinically useful guide on how to interpret and apply them in your practice. Patients are often so confused by their fertility labs. Am I fertile? Am I in perimenopause!? Your patients will be thankful for your thorough explanations of what these tests mean for them.

• What is the definition of ovarian reserve?
• What are the factors that influence ovarian reserve?
• What is the difference between primordial and antral follicles?
• Which is the best ovarian reserve test?
• Which patients should we be testing? 
• Should it be used as a general screening tool?
• Can these tests predict OHSS? PCOS? Menopause?
• What are the major drawbacks of ovarian reserve testing?
• Why should you be measuring estradiol with your Day 3 assessment?

Progesterone for Miscarriage: Who, When, What, Where, Why and How

This course provides a practical guide to the use of progesterone use for preventing miscarriages. We discuss the evidence for it's use in specific patient populations and provide listeners with a step by step guide on how to prescribe with confidence.

• Why don't all doctors prescribe progesterone to prevent miscarriage?
• How do I know which patients will benefit most from it? 
• What forms of progesterone should I use and at what dose? 
• What is the best timing for starting the progesterone? 
• When to start and stop it safely. Is there such thing as starting it too late? 
• Do all women with PCOS need progesterone supplementation? 
• What are the risks and most common side effects that I should tell patients about?

Baby Making 101: The Basics of Fertility

This webinar is jam packed with clinical pearls and will introduce you to the basic concepts of fertility. You will be walked through a typical infertility case and be taken through a practical approach to case taking and information gathering. By the end of this webinar you will feel confident answering all questions related to fertility and fecundability.

• What is the difference between fertility and fecundability? Why do we care?
• Why do family doctors wait until 12 months to do a fertility workup in otherwise heathy couples? 
• When is it appropriate to recommend earlier testing?
• What are causes of infertility that you need to rule out in your evaluation? And how common is "unexplained infertility"?
• What do clots tell us about fertility?
• Can periods be "too light"?
• What questions about pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriages and abortions do you need to ask each patient?
• Do cialis and viagra affect or enhance fertility?
• What should you be specifically asking about family history?
• What 4 things should you be looking for in a physical exam?
• How long can normal sperm live?
• What are the chances of conceiving the day after ovulation?
• Why is there an increased risk of miscarriage if you conceive on the day of ovulation (compared to the day before)?

Lifestyles of the Very Fertile

This webinar will answer the most common questions you will get from your patients about lifestyle choices and fertility.  We dig through the murky evidence and come up with some solid answers that will help guide your patients to better choices to support their fertility. 

• How bad is smoking for fertility?
• I quit 2 years ago. Did I ruin my fertility for life?
• Do I have to quit drinking when we start trying?
• How much alcohol is ok during my fertile window?
• My husband likes to binge drink on weekends with his buddies. Is that ok?
• What about before an IVF cycle? Can we still have a few glasses of wine on my birthday the week before?
• Can I smoke weed? What about my husband?
• Do I have to give up my daily coffee?
• How much weight do I need to lose to improve my fertility?
• My husband is about 40lbs overweight. Is that an issue? Can it affect our future children?
• I heard tight underwear are bad. Is this true?
• What about laptops and cell phone?
• Am I exercising too much?
• Can my husband bike commute to work? I heard cycling was bad for sperm.
• Can stress cause infertility?
• My husband is stressed to the max too. Is that a problem?
• Does sleep matter?
• Is there a fertility diet we should be following? 

Intrauterine Insemination: the ins and outs of IUI 

As clinicians, we don't often know what goes on behind the doors of fertility clinics.  This webinar will help learners become familiar with IUI and ovulation induction cycles so they can help prepare their patients and support them with confidence through the process. 

• What is IUI?
• When is IUI indicated? Is it ever contraindicated?
• How much does a typical cycle cost?  
  Which patients are most likely to benefit from IUI?
• How effective is it?  
• What is the difference between a natural cycle and a medicated cycle? 
• What are the differences between clomiphene citrate and Letrozole for ovulation induction? 
• What are the common protocols used for both oral and injection ovulation induction?
• Should these cycles be monitored with urine LH, serum LH or ultrasound?
  How is the semen collected and processed?
• What does the insemination process look like? 
• What happens post procedure?
  What are some of the complications that may happen?
• How can you support your patients during IUI cycles?

In vitro fertilization: A crash course in IVF 

Assisted reproductive technologies, and specifically IVF, are becoming increasingly common.  Any health care provider supporting couples with infertility should be familiar with the basics of what is involved with an IVF cycle.  This crash course in IVF will walk you through the entire process of IVF from start to finish and leave you with answers to all your patients' most common questions about the what to expect with the treatment cycle.  

• What is IVF?
• What are success rates with IVF? What factors influence these success rates most?
• Which patients make the best candidates for IVF?
• What are the downsides of doing IVF? Does is cause ovarian cancer?
• What is the difference between a "long protocol" and a "short protocol"?
• What is the difference between a "step down" and a "step up" protocol"?
• What is a mini stim cycle?
• What does it mean when a cycle gets cancelled and what are the reasons that happens?
• What happens at egg retrieval?
• What is ICSI and when is it used?
• What happens after the egg retrieval? What is the difference between a "cleavage stage embryo" and a "blastocyst"?
• What is assisted hatching?
• What is PGT and how is it performed?
• Why is a Day 5 transfer generally better than a Day 3 transfer?
• What is better: a fresh or frozen embryo transfer?
• What kind of luteal phase support is usually given after a transfer?
• Does the operator experience matter for an embryo transfer?
• How does one prepare for a frozen embryo transfer?
• What happens after an embryo transfer?
• What is OHSS? When is it most likely to happen?
• What are the most common reasons for a failed transfer?

Miscarriage: A patient centred approach to management

Up to 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage.  As primary health care providers we can expect to support many of our patients through this heart breaking experience.  This webinar will leave you well equipped to answer your patients important questions about how to manage their miscarriage with a compassionate yet informed approach. 

• What is the difference between miscarriage and stillbirth? 
• How do I know if early pregnancy bleeding is a miscarriage?  How common is it in a normal pregnancy?  
• How much cramping is normal? 
• How can I be sure this is a miscarriage?  
• Can serial hCG be diagnostic of a miscarriage? Can I test progesterone to know? 
• Should I do repeat US incase a heart beat shows up later? 
• What questions can I ask patients to help them decide which management strategy is best for them?  
• Which management strategy (medication vs surgical) is better for future fertility? 
• How long can a patient wait in expectant management before needing intervention? 
• What are the common side effects of medication management? 
• How common are retained products after medication management vs surgical management? 
• What are the risks of a surgical management approach? How common are they? 
• What are the options for pain management? 
• How do I know if there are retained products of conception? 
• How soon should my patient start contraception if desired? 
• How long do psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and grief usually last?  What are risk factors for predict a longer duration of depression and perinatal grief? 
• What kind of resources should I provide my patients? 
• What should I be aware of when communicating with my patients after a miscarriage? 
• What things can I recommend after a miscarriage for healing and recovery? 
• How long after a miscarriage should you wait before trying again?  
• What things can we do to support future pregnancies and threatened miscarriages?

BCNA ANM 2021: An update on new and emerging technologies in fertility care

Dr. Jason Hitkari  MD, FRCSC. Co-founder and Co-director of Olive Fertility Centre

This session will present and discuss some of the new technologies that have emerged in the area of IVF and oocyte cryopreservation. The hope is that the session will provide attendees more insight into what patients are being currently offered at fertility centres. This will allow attendees to guide their patients to make informed and appropriate choices.⁠
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Implantation failure has been a difficult area of infertility to both diagnose and treat. There are several new tests for implantation that have allowed us to better test aspects of the endometrium and uterus that we have never been able to understand previously. These include identifying the “window of implantation” in IVF cycles, identifying women at risk for having endometriosis through a uterine biopsy, as well as better understanding the microbiome of the patient that is required to optimize implantation.⁠
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Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) has dramatically changed IVF practice in Canada. The advantages of being able to biopsy embryos for aneuploidy prior to their use has allowed for improved pregnancy rates as well as reduced rates of miscarriage (and therefore a treatment for some patients struggling with recurrent pregnancy loss). PGT-A does, however, have some potential disadvantages including misdiagnosis as well as potential harm to embryos. This seminar will discuss the technique of PGT-A as well as explore data that demonstrates the benefit of PGT-A and will also review potential disadvantages.⁠