Today, we sit down with Dr. Lauren Rubal, a Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility physician who focuses on fertility, recurrent miscarriage, painful, irregular, or heavy cycles, and menopause through an integrative lens. Instead of taking a bandaid, one-size-fits-all approach, Dr. Rubal views each patient as an entire person - body, mind, and soul - and works to address the root cause of reproductive disorders. But she wasn't always in this field. Dr. Rubal started her career in conventional medicine, and even practiced IVF. What prompted her to leave and start her own practice? How does Integrative Medicine differ from a more typical medical approach? What's so bad about IVF? Is there any such thing as "ethical" IVF? And why is hormonal birth control an ineffective treatment? We address all that and more. Find Dr. Rubal at: https://www.laurenrubalmd.com/ Get your tickets for Share the Arrows: https://www.sharethearrows.com/ --- Timecodes: (01:22) About Dr. Rubal & her practice (05:20) The process of IVF (13:11) Ethics of “donating” sperm (15:15) Egg fertilization & the fate of embryos (20:17) Egg grading & testing (34:55) Embryo transfer process (43:55) Risk of miscarriage (45:10) More ethical IVF? (46:15) Selective reductions (51:11) Why Dr. Rubal left the IVF practice (58:47) Why we need education about fertility (01:04:57) Her integrative approach to health (01:07:25) Where to find Dr. Rubal --- Today's Sponsors: Covenant Eyes — protect you and your family from the things you shouldn't be looking at online. Go to coveyes.com/ALLIE to try it FREE for 30 days! Birch Gold — protect your future with gold. Text 'ALLIE' to 989898 for a free, zero obligation info kit on diversifying and protecting your savings with gold. Patriot Mobile — go to PatriotMobile.com/ALLIE or call 972-PATRIOT and use promo code 'ALLIE' for free activation! Balance of Nature — Balance of Nature's proprietary blend of 31 fruits and vegetables come in easy to swallow capsules to give your body the nourishment it needs. Go to BalanceofNature.com and use code ALLIE for 35% off. --- Relevant Episodes: Ep 976 | Birth Control: What the Media Won’t Tell You https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-976-birth-control-what-the-media-wont-tell-you/id1359249098?i=1000650764644 Ep 959 | Birth Control Is Making Women Bisexual | Guest: Emily Detrick https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-959-birth-control-is-making-women-bisexual-guest/id1359249098?i=1000647441400 Ep 254 | Birth Control, IVF & Surrogacy https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-254-birth-control-ivf-surrogacy/id1359249098?i=1000475691301 Ep 695 | Why Children's Rights Trump Adults' Feelings | Guest: Katy Faust https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-695-why-childrens-rights-trump-adults-feelings-guest/id1359249098?i=1000583336623 Ep 554 | IVF, Embryo Adoption, & Surrogacy: Answering the Hard Questions | Guest: Jennifer Lahl https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-554-ivf-embryo-adoption-surrogacy-answering-the/id1359249098?i=1000549207733 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices