We know that it is essential to understand your ovulation schedule in order to pinpoint the short window of success for insemination timing. But women often learn -- late in the process -- that temperature charting and ovulation detection kits don't always tell you what is important for you to know.

submitted by Lori
Will you ever have to prove your donor child doesn’t have a father? When I gave birth to my daughter via anonymous donor IUI in 1999, I hoped that the information regarding her father would be left blank on her birth certificate.

Thanks to Choice Moms sponsor Sepal Reproductive Devices, which offers products and insight for women using home insemination, for these guidelines on working with a known donor.

This woman shared her story on the Choice Moms discussion board, and I thought it was a great reminder to women using a known donor: Make sure you talk about sperm testing before spending too much time trying to conceive.

Long-time Choice Mom supporter California Cryobank announced at the New York City event in July 2010 that it was opening a New York branch office in the fall. It will be located across from Grand Central Station, at 369 Lexington. The benefit for Choice Moms is....

A hard decision for Choice Moms is whether to put a lot of money into one IVF attempt, or to try potentially multiple cycles of less expensive IUI treatments. Here's what one fertility expert advises.

I've been asked by some to offer comment on the study about donor-conceived kids that was released in May 2010 by the Commission on Parenthood's Future, in conjunction with the Institute of American Values.

Trying to purposely conceive, by quietly fitting doctor inseminations in with work schedules, is highly stressful. Kim Guay, of A Clear Vision Organizing, spoke to Choice Moms at our San Francisco event about how to stay organized, well into our future lives as moms.

Whether you are inseminating at home, or with a doctor's care, here are 7 tips to help enhance your fertility, thanks to Dr. Lee Kao of Choice Mom sponsor Laurel Fertility Care:

Even if insemination wasn't your first choice for having a child, there is still an important factor of love in the equation, as Maia Midwifery's Kristin Kali talked about at our Choice Mom event in San Francisco.

I have interviewed many fertility experts for questions specifically posed by the Choice Mom community. Here are audio clips from some of those conversations.

Before Jessica had her baby girl in May, she had a long journey of thinking, and negotiating with a known donor. Here's her story in audio form.

A woman on the Alternatives to Marriage Project Facebook page wrote that she was denied coverage for fertility treatments because she isn't married. She's on the Choice Mom path. Let's weigh in on which insurance companies do a better job of coverage.

It is more important to start your donor search with selection of the right sperm bank, before identifying donor characteristics. Arm yourself with this checklist of questions to begin the process.

When you don't have a partner to help you conceive, creating a baby at home can seem like a mystery. How do you do it? What do you need? Choice Moms sponsor Sepal Reproductive Devices will be offering regular tips on this website, starting with this one.

Egg and sperm donor banks must adhere to certain safety standards, related to infectious disease testing. However, the donors themselves are not required to have genetic testing. That's why it's important for you to know the standards of the bank you want to work with -- and know what questions to ask.

One of the best gifts of Choice Mom networking events is when small groups of women on similar paths find each other to discuss their joys and concerns. Here's what women in the Trying stage talked about with counselor Krista Post.

One advantage of sperm donor conception is that you are looking at your eggs and a donor's sperm much more scientifically than if you were conceiving with a man you fell in love with. That means you have tools at your disposal to prevent potential medical problems for your child. Your sperm bank might have evaluated your donor’s family history, but have you had yours evaluated as well?

After you've learned about how to detect your ovulation, the next best thing would be to find out how the ovulation predictor products rate, from other women on the Choice Mom path.

Uber organized Jessica, a Choice Mom in every way, will deliver her first child in a few months. While she was in the Thinking process -- preceding a long Trying phase -- she developed a worksheet that calculated how much she would need to spend trying to conceive, for prenatal care, for newborn items, and for post-delivery childcare expenses for a year. Here are the numbers she came up with.

A woman who currently lives in a European country that doesn't allow people to use donated egg or sperm asked the Choice Mom board for suggestions about where she might go for treatment options.

A woman asked on the discussion board: "Does anyone know how important it is that you have a doctor who is experienced in handling frozen sperm and the cryopack, and warming the little guys up? My first two attempts were the first two times my clinic has ever handled frozen sperm, in our little town of 9,000 people. My doctor has the vials in a water bath with a soup bowl and a mug from the staff kitchen at the clinic.

Listen to this growing library of clips and podcast excerpts about home insemination.

There are many things to talk about with a known donor candidate. This Choice Chat podcast covers many of the issues with two unique experts.

submitted by Kenzie
Even before I made the choice to conceive with a known donor, I knew that however I conceived I would be doing it myself with as little medical intervention as possible. After all, it's my body, my fertility, and in the end I'm creating my family. It feels very important to me to take responsibility for and to understand the process, as well as the result.

We asked a few sperm banks about their policies about sending sperm to the home:

A common concern of Choice Moms-in-the-making is how the success rate differs when using fresh and frozen sperm. Do you diminish your chances of success when using frozen sperm? I asked two experts, with two perspectives, about their thoughts.

Whether a woman is using ICI, IUI, or doing home insemination with frozen sperm, she must order either unwashed or washed sperm from a bank.

There are three types of insemination techniques: 1) vaginal (or peri-cervical), which uses a syringe (the kind used to give infants liquid medicine) to place sperm into a woman's vagina, near the cervix, 2) intracervical insemination (ICI), involves the use of a catheter or cannula, to place the sperm directly into the cervix, 3) intrauterine insemination (IUI) involves the use of a catheter, or cannula, to place the sperm directly into the uterus.