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Choice Chat for Choice Moms
by Mikki Morrissette
The only podcast for single women who proactively choose motherhood. Hosted by: Mikki Morrissette
Episodes
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Egg-freezing and other choices: Rachel's story
When faced with the prospect of building a family as a single woman, it can be overwhelming the choices we actually have. What do we really want? This is the process Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, author of “In Her Own Sweet Time,” is currently in, as she decides — as a woman turning 40 — what the right...
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Simplifying the Adoption Process
This conversation with Lee Varon, author of “Adopting On Your Own” helps to make the adoption process less overwhelming for the single woman. We talk about the options, the process, the practical issues, and how to pick the right adoption agency. We also answer specific questions from Choice Moms…
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Myths and Realities of Single-Parent Adoption
Private domestic adoption is an underestimated choice for many single women, largely because we tend to assume it’s too expensive, the wait time is too long, and that a birth parent in an open adoption (which is much more common these days) is more likely to pick a married couple with money. We...
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Birds and the Bees for Grownups
It’s amazing what we don’t understand when we’re actually TRYING to get pregnant. Three notable fertility doctors — Dr. Rani Abassi (Columbia Ferility Associates, D.C.), Dr. Isabel Ryan (Pacific Fertility Center, SF) and Dr. Debra Wachs (Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area) walk us…
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Jealousy and Judgment
[this episode originally aired as a radio show in December 2009] Holiday time can be difficult, especially if you are jealous of sibling families, or being judged by your own. We talk about how to cope. And we meet psychologist Andrea Braverman, who talks about her process of helping women build...
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Finding the Right Doula
How do you pick a birth coach, and what can they offer pre- and post-delivery? We hear the wonderful story of four Choice Moms who delivered two babies in 24 hours. We meet Claudia Booker, a D.C.-based doula, who tells an amazing heartfelt story of her own Choice Mom journey through adoption. And…
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When fertility stress has you down
At a Choice Mom networking event in San Francisco, Maia Midwifery's Kristin Kali talked with women about how to balance the love they started with on this journey with the stress they feel from secretly fitting in doctor inseminations -- and cycles of 2ww and no smiley faces on the pregnancy…
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Inseminating at Home
A roundtable of single women talked at a Choice Mom workshop about the at-home insemination process, their emotions about the Choice Mom journey, IUI vs. ICI, one or two insems per cycle, and the value of acupuncture. Fertility Q&A: what is hostile cervical mucous?
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Dr. Sears on Self Care
Especially if you are a new mom, single parents need stress-relief strategies and energy boosts. Noted pediatrician Dr. Robert Sears, a spokesperson for Happy Baby, offers simple tips, signs of postpartum depression, and discusses IQ’s link to attachment. Also on this show: Dr. Charles Sims on…
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Legal and financial planning for the single parent
How do we take care of our child, legally and financially, as a single person with one paycheck? What do we need in place to protect our child if something happens to us? Estate attorney Micah Salb, Ameriprise-affiliated financial planner Rebecca Hall, and insurance agent Gayle Thompson give...
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Enhancing Fertility, Reducing Stress
How can yoga, massage, acupuncture and nutrition have an impact on fertility? We hear answers from the strong team at Pulling Down the Moon, who also explain food allergies, the do’s and don’ts of exercise and caffeine, what the acupuncture experience should be, and how to reduce daily stress.…
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Surviving Baby Boot Camp
Three Choice Moms discuss the tips and strategies they learned to get through the newborn stage, including Jennie, who works full-time while going to college, and Christine, who has a preschooler and a newborn. And introducing the "Ask the Fertility Expert Q&A" segment, sponsored by IntegraMed…
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Lori Gottlieb: Marry Him
When Choice Mom Lori Gottlieb wrote in Atlantic Monthly that perhaps settling for Mr. Good Enough might have been the smart choice, it created a firestorm of debate in the community. Now that she's interviewed marriage and dating experts, neurologists, and married and single men and women -- and...
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The politics of single parenting
There is no question but that single parenting evokes a wide variety of emotions and viewpoints about how the kids in single-parent homes turn out. In this one-hour show, which aired on Voice America June 3, we hear from two experts about the impact it can have on a child to grow up without a...
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De-stressing single parenthood
Did you know there are 10-minute solutions to detoxify the hassles of the day? The smartest Choice Moms learn how to carve out special moments in their day that are all about them. In this June 24 Voice America radio show, host Mikki Morrissette talks about some of those recharging ideas, which…
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Christine Coppa and unexpected pregnancy
In this June 10 Voice America radio show, host Mikki Morrissette talks with Christine Coppa, of Glamour, who gave up a kind of "Sex in the City" Carrie Bradshaw life when she unexpectedly conceived. What can she tell us about life as a single parent, compared to the freedom of her pre-mom years?
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The genetic factor: what we should know for our adopted and donor-conceived children
This one-hour June 17 Voice America radio show featured host Mikki Morrissette's conversation with author April Lynch ("The Genome Factor"), about what we can know -- and should know -- about our child's genetic health, even if we don't know the birth parents or donor.
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Ryan Kramer: Finding half-siblings and donors
In this powerful show, we talk with with Ryan Kramer, the extremely eloquent teenager who co-founded Donor Sibling Registry with his mother Wendy. We discuss 1) his curiosity about his roots from the age of two, 2) his own search for his donor, 3) what it is -- and is not -- that he is looking…
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My life as an anonymous sperm donor
In this unique, detailed show, we hear directly from a formerly anonymous sperm donor (now running this service for donor families), who contributed for 15 years, about the contact he has now had with a few of his offspring. We talk about how the industry has changed since he provided fresh sperm...
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Tracking pregnancies: why it’s important
A majority of families using donor conception do not report births after the fact. This has a tremendous impact on the industry -- for example, the numbers of offspring born to a sperm donor, and even to egg donors, are generally vastly underreported, and if there is a genetic abnormality that...
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Estate Planning Basics
Estate planner and Choice Mom Racheal Isan explains the basic options for anyone who is creating an estate plan for her child, including the difference between a will and a trust, the benefits of having a trust, and how to pick a guardian. She discusses what happens if we don't have an estate…
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Creating an estate plan: the lesson from a Choice Mom's death
Two women share the story of a Choice Mom whose unexpected and tragic death -- leaving behind a son born posthumously -- remind us of the reason we need to have life insurance in place before we conceive, and an estate plan created before we bring our children home. Stayed tuned to the...
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Dating as a single mom
In this episode we hear from two single moms about how they have managed to include dating into their lives. First I talked with my friend Darla about how she has juggled Choice Motherhood with a long-term relationship, including her experience and insight about when to introduce a boyfriend to…
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What every Single Woman should know before becoming a Choice Mom
Recorded at the New York City Choice Mom event, this podcast features mental health counselor Joann Paley Galst discussing the basic tips she offers any single woman who is considering Choice Motherhood. This episode was sponsored by Pacific Fertility Center.
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Choice Mom Tricks: Part 2
Recorded at a San Francisco Bay Area networking event for Choice Moms, this show features the experience of Choice Moms founder Mikki Morrissette, the humor of author Mary Pols ("Accidentally on Purpose") and the insight of Choice Mom and therapist Felicia Shamma, as well as audience members, to...
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Choice Chat with Jennifer: support network in action
This episode features Jennifer, 8 months pregnant, who was part of a Choice Moms conversation circle that included six women talking about how we got to this stage of our journey, concerns we have for our children, how men play a role in our lives, and more. It is a great example of the kinds of...
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Choice Mom Tricks: Part 1
In this show, recorded at a New York City networking event for Choice Moms, authors Mikki Morrissette and Louise Sloan talk about their Choice Mom journeys. What has been harder than we expected? What has been easier? What advice do we have for other single moms? What have we learned from...
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Mary Pols: Accidentally on Purpose
This honest conversation with Mary Pols, author of Accidentally on Purpose, explores the emotions of a 39-year-old woman who unexpectedly found herself pregnant from a one-night stand. We talk about the reasons she had never wanted to become a Choice Mom -- and how grateful she is that it…
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Answering the Daddy Question
Eventually every Choice Mom wonders how to address the inevitable "Do I have a dad?" question from their child. In this show -- excerpted from the new 50-minute CD about the same topic now available on the ChoiceMoms.org website -- experts including Jane Mattes (Single Mothers by Choice) and...
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Talking out loud about grief
In this conversation with New York City-based therapist Joann Paley Galst, we talk about the intense feelings that were brought up in a recent Choice Mom workshop by single women who are making the decision to raise a family on their own, by women who are facing fertility challenges, and by moms...
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Rick Weissbourd: The impact of single-parent homes
Harvard educator Rick Weissbourd specializes in identifying what our kids need in order to grow up strong in today's culture. He is the author of The Vulnerable Child: What Really Hurts America's Children And What We Can Do About It and the forthcoming The Parents We Mean To Be: How Adults...
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At-home insemination: everything you want to know but might be afraid to ask
This is a MUST listen for anyone who wants to understand more about how conception works. Kristin Kali of Maia Midwifery and Preconception Services talks frankly and in detail about everything you need to know when attempting at-home insemination....including safety questions to discuss with a...
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Fertility Basics: What you need to know
We talk with Dr. Isabelle Ryan of Pacific Fertility Center (SF Bay Area) about the basic steps a woman needs to take if she is proactively trying to conceive. We talk about the tests that can help assess the likelihood of fertility success before taking costly insemination attempts with donor...
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Negotiating with a Known Donor
We talk with two unique experts in this episode about negotiating with a known donor. First is Jon, who has been asked by three women to consider being a known donor. He talks about the kinds of issues they discussed, and in his case, why none of the requests actually turned into a "yes." Second…
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Felicia: making the leap, miscarriages, and newborn days
In this conversation with Felicia, a therapist and Choice Mom, we get up close and personal about a common issue that isn't talked about much: coping with miscarriage. In her case, twice. We also discuss the leap of faith it takes to make this decision. And the vulnerability she felt after she...
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What donor-conceived adults want to know
A classic concern of anyone who uses donor insemination is how the child will feel about it over time. In this show, we talk with two people who have an intimate knowledge of this issue. Kathleen is a donor-conceived adult who felt she was special after she learned of her origins when she was...
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Cathi: Finding humor in fertility adventures
Cathi has managed to find the humor in the ups and downs of her Choice Motherhood journey. From figuring out when (and how) to inseminate herself at home, using the sperm of a gay roommate, to dealing multiple times with the agony of the two-week wait, to moving when she was 33 weeks pregnant,...
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Lori Gottlieb: The Mr. Good Enough Debate
When Lori Gottlieb wrote an article about the merits of settling for Mr. Good Enough (Atlantic Monthly, March 2008), it set off a firestorm of debate within the Choice Mom community and across the U.S. in general. In this show, we talk with Lori about the strong responses she's gotten from people...
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Dealing with the emotions of fertility treatment
Using insemination to build a family is not usually anyone's ideal method to parenthood. Sometimes we feel grief about not sharing the process with a partner. We might resent being asked by a fertility clinic to talk to a counselor before taking this step -- or wish we had someone to talk to…
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How to choose a sperm bank...carefully
There are important changes needed, and slowly happening, in the donor sperm industry. On this show host Mikki Morrissette talks with three people about what anyone should understand and think about before choosing a sperm donor from a particular sperm bank. We hear from Jessica, a Choice...
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Jane Mattes: 25 Years of Single Mothers by Choice
I talk with Jane Mattes, the matriarch of the Single Mothers by Choice network, a 25-year-old organization that offers support networks for Choice Moms. We talked about how society's views of this movement have changed, what women making this choice need to know, why our kids seem to be turning…
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Louise Sloan: Knock Yourself Up
I talked to Louise Sloan, the author of "No Man? No Problem. Knock Yourself Up," about what the actual message of her book is, the humor she found in her 14 attempts to conceive before her son was born, and how the lesbian single woman journey might differ from the straight single woman’s journey...
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Ken Daniels: Taking pride in our donor-conceived families
In this 15-minute conversation with New Zealand-based social scientist Ken Daniels, author of “Building A Family With the Assistance of Donor Insemination,? we talk about several controversial topics: the diverse make-up of families today, how to talk to children about being donor conceived, the...
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Shelly Damm: Why I chose open adoption
This second in the series of Choice Chats is with Shelly, whose second child was added to the family through open domestic adoption. She explains why she chose that route, and offers thoughts on raising a multiracial family. The show is sponsored by ChoiceMoms.org and Choice Moms LLC, and is…
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Who Are Choice Moms?
Mikki Morrissette, author of Choosing Single Motherhood: The Thinking Woman's Guide and founder of Choice Moms LLC, discusses 3 typical myths associated with the Choice Mom lifestyle, and gives background info about why she became a single mother by choice. This first episode in the Choice Chat...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Choice Chat for Choice Moms have?
Choice Chat for Choice Moms currently has 45 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Choice Chat for Choice Moms about?
The only podcast for single women who proactively choose motherhood. Hosted by: Mikki Morrissette
How often does Choice Chat for Choice Moms release new episodes?
Choice Chat for Choice Moms has 45 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Choice Chat for Choice Moms?
You can listen to Choice Chat for Choice Moms on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Choice Chat for Choice Moms?
Choice Chat for Choice Moms is created and hosted by Mikki Morrissette.
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