97 | Dr. Carolyn Clark on solo medical parenting, sperm donation & nephrology

Dr. Carolyn Clark is a nephrologist, lecturer, researcher, public health student and life coach. She qualified as a doctor in 2000 and has spent the last 22 years in public hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. She believes that sometimes our brains get in the way of being our best selves and loves helping people get rid of unhelpful thoughts and step forward into their future with her coaching and supervision business. She is also a solo mother by sperm donation to a busy 7 year old and is living her childhood mantra of 'if you can dream it, you can become it'. She joins us to discuss her journey of becoming a solo parent by sperm donation. 

In this episode, we discuss her journey into nephrology, her PhD, starting her sperm donation/IVF journey at 37, her words of wisdom to others following in her footsteps, her solo parenting 'hacks', the process of sperm donation/IVF and cost of the journey. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Carolyn Clark
• 1:44 Finding medicine
• 3:51 Finding nephrology
• 5:40 Moving from NZ to Australia in PGY3
• 6:46 Starting the journey of IVF
• 11:58 Picking a sperm donor
• 15:01 Sharing with your child
• 21:03 Getting into the queue for sperm donation
• 29:23 Time from beginning to 'end' of journey (pregnancy)
• 31:57 Advice for other people on this journey
• 34:49 Family planning and factors to consider
• 37:26 Solo parenting hacks
• 41:05 Supporting solo mums
• 50:16 Cost of IVF/sperm donation