A woman on the Choice Moms Over 40 discussion board asked women to weigh in on her concerns about using Bravelle to try to conceive.

On our yahoo discussion group for Choice Moms on the journey after the age of 40, a woman asked for stories of hope from others who had paid that kind of money, at that age, and found success.

This is a good NPR story that lists some of the resources available to help fund IVF.

One of the most exciting developments I see for Choice Moms in the coming years is the opening up of the relatively new embryo donation frontier for those women whose own eggs aren't working. New players in the field are working with single women.

Choice Moms has recently started conversation with Embryo Donation International, which actively works with single women and lesbians who have neither viable eggs or sperm with which to start a family.

As we continue our look this month into alternatives to the "traditional" IUI route for Choice Moms, here are some great resources.

Back in August 2010, two wonderful colleagues talked with each other in a radio show about moving beyond the "simple" conception options to surrogacy, adoption, embryo donation, egg donation and more. Here are highlights, and a direct link to the show.

Three noteworthy news items to share with you this week....

We've been busy assembling new fertility resources for our large community in the Trying: Fertility stage. Use this link to our new page of medications involved in fertility treatment.

It's great to find this community, and I'm so excited to get to know you all! My story goes like this. I was married to a wonderful man, John....

Thanks to some great referrals, San Francisco-based Alta Bates IVF is now part of the Choice Mom family of recommended fertility specialists.

This documentary promises to be an interesting one for people using assisted reproduction technology.

It took me over a year to decide to become a single mom. Once the year was over, the biggest concern for me was the financial aspect. I considered the cost of becoming a mother, being a mother, having a sick child.

I couldn't get to Denver for the annual ASRM conference in 2010 which featured the latest findings in reproductive health. But I did compile some of the great information links that came out of it.

As I've mentioned, one news source that I follow faithfully is BioNews, which publishes information about fertility and genetics out of the United Kingdom. Here are some of their latest reports of interest to the Choice Mom community.

There is nothing that prompts more questions on Choice Mom discussion boards than when a single woman is purposely trying to conceive. We quickly learn how little we know about something we've been taught can be so easy. The Choice Mom Guide to Fertility gathers the most common questions and answers them, with the help of 15 fertility specialists we interviewed specifically for this book.

I couldn't do what I do on ChoiceMoms.org, and at our networking events, without the support of sponsors who specifically value the Choice Mom community. At the July 2010 New York City event, East Coast Fertility's Dr. Michael Zinger talked with women about their fertility concerns. Here's what he's offered us so far:

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.

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.

This collection of journal entries during the 2ww process was submitted by Jenn.
Day 1
This is the first day of my third 2ww. My first two IVF cycles failed. The first one was with my then husband, and I was so stressed out. I got OHSS. It was the summer of 2006. I got upset at him for every little thing, some things littler than others, and the schedule was difficult because we needed to move 1000 miles away between the retrieval and the transfer.

At the Austin Choice Moms event we started to talk about ways to simplify, and add flexibility to our work life, so that we can enjoy more time with our kids. How do we do it?

There is often a misperception among Choice Moms-in-the-making that pay for IUI or IVF might automatically lead more easily to pregnancy than a couple simply having sex. As one woman wondered: "Why are the success rates so low? If I have only a 1 in 5 chance of getting pregnant, should I even be attempting this because of the expenses involved?"

I asked Louisville fertility specialist Dr. Steven Nakajima to respond:

The expense of fertility drugs is depressing, even for couples with two paychecks, or for people who are fortunate to have good insurance coverage for fertility treatment. Here are some options for learning more about absorbing the cost and finding good prices.

It is important to understand the success rates of an IVF center before you invest. There are wide discrepancies. Here is a compilation of resources to help you understand the IVF process, as recommended from Choice Moms.

Q: I am looking into having a child with donor insemination, but I am not sure where to begin, and what to expect about cost. What should I know?