Journal Category: Collaborative health

A Collaborative Model of Integrative Preconception Care in Complex Autoimmune Infertility

A Collaborative Model of Integrative Preconception Care in Complex Autoimmune Infertility

Presented at the Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) Conference July 2026 and the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) Conference August 2026.

 

At Fertile Ground, we’ve always believed that the best care happens when healthcare professionals work together.

Over the past 25 years we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with hundreds of fertility specialists, GPs, obstetricians, surgeons, endocrinologists,  psychiatrists, counsellors and psychologists, acupuncturists, massage therapists, osteopaths and other allied health practitioners, each bringing their own expertise to help individuals and couples navigate what can be one of the most challenging seasons of their lives – trying to conceive.

This clinical case study represents one of those collaborations.

About this case

This clinical case study was presented by Charmaine Dennis, Director and Senior Fertility Naturopath at Fertile Ground Health Group, and Dr Sascha Edelstein, Fertility Specialist and Managing Director of Thrive Fertility, at both the Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) Conference and the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) Conference in 2026.

While we were incredibly grateful to ultimately celebrate the birth of a healthy baby, that isn’t why we chose to present this case.

We presented it because it demonstrates something we believe is just as important: what can happen when healthcare professionals communicate openly, respect one another’s expertise and work together to build a truly integrated plan of care around the couple sitting in front of them.

Infertility is rarely simple. For many couples, there isn’t one diagnosis, one treatment or one practitioner holding all the answers. Medical history, nutrition, lifestyle, immune function, metabolic health, environmental exposures, reproductive health and emotional wellbeing all contribute to the environment in which conception is being asked to happen.

Following four unsuccessful IVF cycles, this couple paused treatment to comprehensively optimise both partners before commencing their fifth cycle. The result was a genuinely collaborative model of care.

A partnership we’re proud of

One of the greatest privileges of working in fertility care is collaborating with healthcare professionals who are genuinely committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for their patients.

Working alongside Dr Sascha Edelstein and the team at Thrive Fertility throughout this case was a wonderful example of that philosophy in action. Their openness to collaboration, evidence-informed practice and willingness to communicate throughout the patient’s journey created an environment where medical and complementary care could genuinely support one another.

This partnership reflects the way we believe integrative fertility care should be practised – not as competing disciplines, but as complementary areas of expertise working together in the best interests of the people we care for.

We hope this case encourages more conversations between fertility specialists, GPs, naturopaths, acupuncturists and allied health practitioners. Not because one profession has all the answers, but because patients deserve the benefit of every perspective working together.

This case contributes to the growing discussion around integrative fertility care, IVF support, preconception care, recurrent IVF failure and multidisciplinary fertility treatment.

Finally, we would like to sincerely thank our patients for generously allowing us to share their story. We hope it contributes to ongoing learning, stronger collaboration and, ultimately, better care for people navigating infertility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Collaborative Model of Integrative Preconception Care in Complex Autoimmune Infertility

Presenter contact information

For further information about our case study, Fertile Ground Health Group or Thrive Fertility please contact:

1. Charmaine Dennis, Fertile Ground Health Group

2. Dr Sascha Edelstein Thrive Fertility

References

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