Podcast Guest Questions
Please be prepared to discuss your path to motherhood. We will use the questions to guide our conversation, but feel free to add anything that you feel is relevant or has been missed here.
1. As a child, what did you expect for your life? e.g. I always told people I'd have 11 kids.
2. Briefly describe your path to motherhood?
3. How did this path differ from what you pictured throughout your life?
4. What did you need to let go of to embrace your unique path to
motherhood?
5. How did you manage to let go of your original ideas/plans? Strategies, resources, ideas that shifted?
6. If you used a sperm or egg donor, or used a donated embryo, how did you approach that process? How did you pick your bank and your donor? What advice would you give others about using a donor (egg or sperm)?
7. If you adopted, how did you choose what agency, clinic, process to use? What advice would you give others about the adoption process?
8. How are you dealing with the conversation about your child's origins (adoption, sperm donation, egg donation etc) with your child? What are your plans for how to deal with this as your child grows up? How about with others--family, friends, schools, etc.
9. Do you have any regrets about how you became a mother?
10. What's the most surprising thing about your path? What surprised you about how things turned out?
11. Do you think your path to motherhood has in any way changed or altered the relationship you have with your child? For example, if you lack a genetic connection or used a donor, adopted etc, has the lack of genetic connection ever been an issue in how you feel about your child or motherhood?
12. In hindsight, would you do anything differently if you know what you know now.
13. Have you dated while you were pregnant or since your child was born? What can you tell us about this? What advice would you give to others about dating as a single mom?
14. How have you gotten the support you need? Do you have family close by and if not how else have you built a support network? What would you tell others about how to ask and get support?
15. What advice would you give someone if they were struggling to become a mother or looking at a completely different path to motherhood than they had always assumed or dreamed?
16. In what ways has being a mother been different than you expected? How has it in itself been a reimagining as well?
17. What do you love most about being a mother?
18. What do you like least about being a mother?
19. Any other advice for others?
20. Anything else you’d like to add?
Please note, depending on your situation, I will add questions. For example, if you used a known donor, or were in a relationship while deciding to become a single mom, or donated your unused embryos to someone else. I want to hear it all and with your permission we will cover anything unique to your situation.