In this episode of The Gossip, the hosts open an honest, compassionate conversation about the emotional realities of motherhood that are so often left unspoken. Drawing on questionnaire responses and their combined experience as an OT and birth coach, they explore what it feels like to be unheard in maternity systems, how emotional wounds and trauma can surface long after birth, and the many forms of loss that accompany motherhood — from miscarriage and IVF to invisible losses of identity, sleep, and independence. The episode also unpacks guilt, anger, shame, and resentment, reframing them as valid signals rather than personal failures. Grounded in the concept of matrescence, the discussion closes with gentle, practical pathways toward integration and healing, reminding listeners that being heard, naming loss, and finding support can meaningfully lighten the load.

In this episode, we share our own breastfeeding journeys—honest, personal, and deeply real. Sam reflects on an overall ease with breastfeeding, alongside challenges including tongue ties with both children, engorgement, and a fast let-down. Mia speaks to the hard work of feeding her first child, navigating repeated bouts of mastitis across her breastfeeding experiences, and the persistence it took to keep going. Together, we talk openly about the realities of breastfeeding, the effort often hidden behind it, and the importance of normalising breastfeeding in public. This conversation offers reassurance that there is no single “right” feeding story—only real ones, shaped by bodies, babies, and circumstances.

In this episode of The Gossip, we open a heartfelt conversation about birth stories—not as dramatic retellings or lessons to be extracted, but as lived experiences that deserve to be heard, held, and respected.

Mia, a birth coach, and Sam, an occupational therapist, explore how birth stories shape women long after the day itself and why telling (and listening to) birth stories can be deeply reparative.

This episode is for anyone who has given birth, is preparing to, supports birthing women, or feels the quiet weight of a story that hasn’t yet been spoken.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why birth stories are not “just birth” but embodied experiences
• How the body and nervous system remember birth
• Making space for all births: joyful, traumatic, medicalised, quiet, complex

A gentle reminder:

There is no “good” or “bad” birth—only your birth. Your story matters, even if it doesn’t sound dramatic. Especially if it doesn’t.

Content note:

This episode includes discussion of birth experiences and may touch on medical intervention or emotional distress. Please listen in a way that feels supportive for you.