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

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

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

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Reach out to Katie over at [email protected]