The Single Greatest Choice: For Single Women Exploring Solo Motherhood by Choice (SMBC), Fertility, and Having a Baby on Their Own Through Donor Conception or Adoption

S8E10 Julie Ferguson on IVF, Solo Motherhood, and Finding Love After Baby


Listen Later

Julie thought she was freezing her eggs for a future partner.

Instead, she ended up fertilizing all of them on her path to become a mom on her own—then finding love and partnership afterward.

That’s the short version of Julie Ferguson’s story, but there’s so much more to it.

Julie is a PR firm owner and solo mom by choice who’s been through more than her share of plot twists on the road to motherhood: divorce, miscarriage, five egg retrievals, two IVF cycles, and one hard-won embryo that became her son. She opens up about what it really took—emotionally, physically, and financially—to make her dream of motherhood happen.

And her story doesn’t end there.

Now a proud mom to a two-year-old, Julie shares what it’s been like to date as a solo mom, including an unplanned pregnancy at 45 and the evolving relationship that followed. We talk about rediscovering yourself in motherhood, building connections with other donor sibling families, and Julie’s advocacy work with the Stork Foundation, which helps families access IVF through grants.

Whether you’re still navigating fertility as a single woman or already parenting solo, Julie’s mix of honesty, humor, and hope is one you don’t want to miss.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Navigating miscarriage, divorce, and solo motherhood during the pandemic
  • Doing multiple egg retrievals and two rounds of IVF in her early 40s
  • The emotional toll of losing an embryo and trying again
  • Making the leap from egg freezing to IVF with donor sperm
  • Advocating for IVF access through the Stork Foundation
  • Dating as a solo mom and navigating an unexpected pregnancy at 45
  • Building a donor sibling community and raising a happy toddler solo
  • Why prioritizing self-care matters in solo motherhood
  • And more

Resources mentioned:

  • The Stork Foundation
  • Little Words Project - Hope Bracelet
  • Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART)
  • It Starts With the Egg Book
  • Pulling Down the Moon Holistic Fertility Center

Connect with Julie:

  • Instagram: @chijules
  • Julie’s PR Firm

👩‍👧‍👦The Single Greatest Choice is the single mother by choice resource you’ve been craving for every stage of your SMBC journey. You can find 1:1 Coaching for every stage of solo motherhood by choice, Community Groups for thinkers, triers, and pregnant SMBCs, The SGC The SGC Village Membership Community, Retreats for early stage SMBCs and Family Trips for moms & kids.

🏘️Join our community, The SGC Village

Reach out to Katie over at [email protected]

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Single Greatest Choice: For Single Women Exploring Solo Motherhood by Choice (SMBC), Fertility, and Having a Baby on Their Own Through Donor Conception or AdoptionBy Katie Bryan

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

106 ratings


More shows like The Single Greatest Choice: For Single Women Exploring Solo Motherhood by Choice (SMBC), Fertility, and Having a Baby on Their Own Through Donor Conception or Adoption

View all
The Longest Shortest Time by Hillary Frank | Realm

The Longest Shortest Time

4,088 Listeners

The Egg Whisperer Show by Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh

The Egg Whisperer Show

237 Listeners

U Up? by Betches Media

U Up?

14,438 Listeners

Girls Gotta Eat by Dear Media

Girls Gotta Eat

29,067 Listeners

Love Letters by The Boston Globe

Love Letters

1,323 Listeners

Call Her Daddy by Alex Cooper

Call Her Daddy

165,085 Listeners

As a Woman by Natalie Crawford, MD

As a Woman

1,101 Listeners

Fertility Docs Uncensored by Various

Fertility Docs Uncensored

280 Listeners

The Stork and I by thestorkandi

The Stork and I

19 Listeners

Ask a Matchmaker by Maria Avgitidis

Ask a Matchmaker

378 Listeners

We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle and Audacy

We Can Do Hard Things

41,503 Listeners

No need for Prince Charming by Alisha Burns

No need for Prince Charming

5 Listeners

Oversharing by Betches Media

Oversharing

1,814 Listeners

The Keep Him Podcast by Candice Katherine Febrile

The Keep Him Podcast

18 Listeners

Good Hang with Amy Poehler by The Ringer

Good Hang with Amy Poehler

8,978 Listeners