Advocacy is a skill learned through necessity and experience. This clip reflects on becoming clearer and more confident when navigating healthcare systems for both children and self. It affirms that self-trust is built through practice, not permission.

Dating looks different when your children’s safety, peace, and home come first. This clip reflects on boundaries, discernment, and why neutrality and shared values matter more than pressure. It captures how priorities sharpen with time and experience.

This reflection shares the heart behind continuing the work after the first chapter ended. It centers joy, softness, and storytelling from a Black woman’s lens, honoring the desire to create safe, affirming spaces. It explains why the story needed room to keep growing.

Listen to the full episode at Start to Finish Motherhood w/ Aisha:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/77u8bMLi6rSggLzWfAArHi?si=f879e785caed44e1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1e1-on-why-i-created-the-start-to-finish-motherhood-podcast/id1666585547?i=1000599732178

Enjoy!

This reflection looks back at the earliest days of intentional motherhood and names how much can shift over time. What once felt heavy and uncertain has evolved with lived experience, growth, and perspective. This clip offers context for how early conversations continue to deepen in the next chapter.

This episode is a bridge and final episode of this feed.

In this final episode of the Black Single Mothers by Choice podcast, the journey continues under one home: Start to Finish Motherhood. What began with navigating fertility decisions, donor choices, dating, medical advocacy, and parenting very young children has evolved alongside motherhood itself.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• why this podcast feed is coming to a close

• where the story continues

• what the Mash-Up Episodes are — and why they are not reruns

• how early conversations are revisited with updates from a more seasoned mother

• and how the journey has grown from survival into sustainability

If Black Single Mothers by Choice helped you feel seen, grounded, or less alone, Start to Finish Motherhood is where the conversation deepens — with perspective shaped by parenting school-age children and living life on your own terms.

Join the next chapter at Start to Finish Motherhood, and if this podcast has supported you, please consider leaving a 5-star review on your listening platform.

If you’ve been listening to Black Single Mothers by Choice, you’ve been here from the beginning the questions, the uncertainty, the early decisions, and the quiet courage it takes to choose motherhood intentionally.

This episode is a bridge...

When this podcast began, the focus was narrow and necessary: becoming a Black Single Mother by Choice, navigating fertility decisions, donor choices, dating, medical advocacy, and the early realities of parenting very young children. These conversations were raw, timely, and rooted in survival and discovery.

But life didn’t stop there. Motherhood kept moving and evolving and so did my podcasting.

Children grew. Capacity shifted. New questions emerged: about school-age parenting, identity, work, rest, boundaries, grief, joy, and what it looks like to live beyond the early trenches of solo motherhood.

The story continues under one home: Start to Finish Motherhood.

Start to Finish Motherhood is where the full arc of the journey lives — from the earliest days of choosing solo motherhood to parenting school-age children and reimagining life on your own terms.

To make that transition easier, Season 5 of Start to Finish Motherhood introduces the Mash-Up Episodes.

The Mash-Up Episodes intentionally revisit key episodes from Black Single Mothers by Choice — but with context, reflection, and updates layered in. You’ll hear:

• how early decisions played out over time

• what changed, what stayed true, and what surprised us

• new insights shaped by lived experience

• and how the journey evolved from survival into sustainability

These are not reruns.
They are bridges connecting where you started to where the story is now.

• Start with Season 5 of Start to Finish Motherhood to hear the Mash-Up Episodes and updates

• Then, binge Seasons 1–4 to experience the journey from the beginning — uninterrupted and in one place

If Black Single Mothers by Choice helped you feel seen, grounded, or less alone, Start to Finish Motherhood is where that conversation deepens.

• Same honesty.
• More perspective.
• A longer view of what intentional motherhood can become.

Thank you for being here — from the start.

Continue the journey with Start to Finish Motherhood:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starttofinishmotherhood
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StarttoFinishMotherhood
Facebook Community Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/starttofinishmotherhood/

Aisha, former co-host of the Mocha Single Mothers by Choice (SMCs) podcast, is launching Start to Finish Motherhood, a podcast for those thinking or already Single Mothers by Choice, just looking for practical advice for navigating life's relationships. When you decide to have children on your own, it doesn't mean that you're completely alone. Aisha is partnering with you every step of your journey.

Start to Finish Motherhood website: Start to Finish Motherhood

Connect with me:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarttoFinishMotherhood

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starttofinishmotherhood

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/starttofinishmotherhood

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@starttofinishmotherhood

Embark on a transformative journey with the "NorthStar Gaze" podcast, sharing intimate stories from Geo-Stem luminaries. In 1-on-1 chats, explore their journeys and profound contributions to geography and GIS.

Inspired by our Telescope program, each episode offers a telescopic view into their lives. Uncover the human side of Geo-Stem, where passion meets purpose, and racial justice is central.

"The NorthStar Gaze" is your invitation to a Homecoming, where diverse voices paint the tapestry of contributions to geography and STEM. Tune in and let the brilliance of these geo-stars guide you.