Nov 27, 2023
Welcome to the second installent in the What Nobody Tells Us: Holiday Survival Series. Part of holidays "traditions" that many single women in their late-30s and early 40s dread is attending a holiday gathering and being subject to a littany of unsolicited questions, e.g. "How's your dating life? Anyone special in your life? Thinking about settling down? Don't you want a family someday?" Inevitably followed by, "You're not getting any younger!"
Granted, this may be an antiquated version of family questioning but sadly, it still happens (and people really need to mind their own business). The difference today is that many of these single women who haven't yet found the right partner are taking control of their own fertility. So much so, there's a name for it: Becoming a "Single Parent By Choice" and deciding to undergo the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) process.
My guest today, Kari Kristan, is a 44 year-old Single Mom By Choice (SMBC) who proactively underwent fertility treatments in the hopes of becoming a parent. After years of focusing on her career and building her business, yet not finding the right partner, Kari in her mid-30s froze her eggs as a precaution, feeling confident she would meet the right person who would render the eggs moot. She gave herself a deadline of 40 years-old before she would pull the trigger on starting a solo fertility journey.
After her 40th birthday came and went and the pandemic forced the world into lockdown, Kari made the decision at age 41 to kick-start in-vitro fertilization on her own. This episodes details the specificity of that journey. Kari covers it all: