Motherkind

During August, the Motherkind team and I try to practise what we preach by slowing down, taking some time off and making the juggle just a little easier over the summer holidays.
So, throughout the month, we're bringing you some of our most listened-to episodes of the year so far.
Pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding can be some of the most physically demanding experiences a woman's body will ever go through. So why are mothers expected to simply carry on afterwards?
This week, Zoe is joined by nutrition scientist and bestselling author Dr Federica Amati for an eye-opening conversation about what a mother's body actually needs through pregnancy, postpartum recovery and the first years of motherhood.
Federica explains why the first 1,000 days aren't only important for our babies — they're a crucial window for maternal health too. Pregnancy draws heavily on our nutrient stores, birth has an enormous physiological impact on the body, and breastfeeding can require significantly more energy than pregnancy itself. Yet this is often the exact moment mothers have the least time, energy and support to properly nourish themselves.
Together, Zoe and Federica explore what to eat before and during pregnancy, the truth about pregnancy cravings and morning sickness, and why fertility shouldn't be treated as solely a woman's responsibility.
But it's their conversation about postpartum depletion and recovery that every mother needs to hear. Federica shares practical advice for nourishing yourself after birth, why asking for and accepting help matters, and why we desperately need to move away from the expectation that women should simply "bounce back".
They also discuss pregnancy spacing, breastfeeding, maternal burnout, the mental load and what happens when postpartum recovery begins to overlap with perimenopause.
Above all, this is a reminder that your body isn't supposed to return to the woman you were before children. Motherhood changes us — physically, hormonally and emotionally — and perhaps the goal isn't to fight that change, but to learn how to support the body we're in now.
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
What to eat before, during and after pregnancy

Why mothers can become so depleted after birth

How to nourish your body during postpartum and breastfeeding

The recommended recovery time between pregnancies

Why we need to stop expecting mothers to "bounce back"

Watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Zoe’s conversation with
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

What skills will our children really need to thrive in a world that's changing faster than ever?
As parents, we spend so much time thinking about our children's future. And with AI and technology transforming the world they'll grow into, two skills feel more important than ever: confidence and resilience.
In this special episode, created in partnership with Stagecoach Performing Arts, I'm joined by performance and drama play expert Sarah Chitty to explore how we can help our children develop the confidence to use their voice, handle nerves, take risks, make mistakes and keep going when something feels uncomfortable.
We talk about why confidence isn't about being the loudest child in the room, but about building genuine self-esteem and learning to trust who you are. Sarah also explains why girls can become particularly self-conscious between the ages of 8 and 12, and what we can do as parents to give them safe spaces where they can take risks, express themselves and feel seen and heard.
We also explore the surprising role that drama, play and performing arts can have in developing skills that extend far beyond the stage, from communication and teamwork to handling fear, presenting ideas, reading body language and having the courage to say yes to new opportunities.
And Zoe shares her own experience of Stagecoach Performing Arts as a child and why she believes those early experiences helped give her the confidence to stand up in front of hundreds of people, pursue new opportunities and, eventually, start Motherkind.
In this episode, you'll learn:How to build genuine confidence and self-esteem in your child

Why girls' confidence can dip between 8 and 12

How to help children handle nerves, fear and failure

Why play and creativity can build lifelong resilience

Simple ways to encourage children to find their voice and take healthy risks

Watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe.
This episode is created in partnership with Stagecoach Performing Arts. For your 2-week trial from £25, visit https://www.stagecoach.co.uk/motherkind/
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

Have you ever felt like maternity "leave" was the wrong word for what you were actually doing?
In this powerful Moment, broadcaster and author Emma Barnett shares the phrase that changed how she — and so many mothers listening — understood motherhood: maternity service.
Emma explains how the reframe came to her during an intense week of solo parenting, and why swapping just one word completely shifted her relationship to those early, relentless months. Together, Zoe and Emma dig into the "death and rebirth" of matrescence, the strange creative clarity that can show up in the fog of new motherhood, and why so few honest portraits of this stage of life exist. If you've ever felt blindsided by who you became after having a baby, this conversation will leave you feeling far less alone — and hand you some new language for what you lived through.
💡 What You'll Learn in This MomentWhy "maternity service" fits better than "maternity leave"

How the reframe came to Emma mid-heatwave

The unexpected creative clarity of new motherhood

The "death and rebirth" of matrescence

Why honest portraits of new motherhood are so rare

Watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you liked this moment, listen to the full episode: Maternity Service, Not Leave: A New Perspective with Emma Barnett
Feeling like you’re carrying it all? Download your FREE Mental Load Cheat Sheet and learn how to start feeling lighter, even if nothing in your life changes.
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Jurassic Oceans Exhibition at The Natural History Museum. Kids go half price.

During August, the Motherkind team and I try to practise what we preach by slowing down, taking some time off and making the juggle just a little easier over the summer holidays.
So, throughout the month, we're bringing you some of our most listened-to episodes of the year so far.
If you’re the person who remembers the PE kits, books the appointments, sorts the childcare, knows when the suncream needs reapplying and automatically assumes you’re looking after the children unless you’ve specifically arranged otherwise — this episode is for you.
This week’s episode is with author Lou Beckett for a brilliantly honest conversation about being the default parent and the invisible mental, emotional and physical load so many mothers carry.
Lou describes default parenting as something bigger than the mental load. It’s not only thinking about everything that needs to happen; it’s doing it, managing it and carrying the underlying assumption that ultimately, you are responsible. And often, couples don't consciously choose these roles at all. They simply fall into them after having children and never stop to renegotiate them.
We talk about what that does to your identity, your relationship and your time — including Lou's experience of stepping away from her career while her husband's career accelerated, and the gradual feeling that she had lost sight of who she was outside motherhood.
Lou also shares what has actually helped them change the dynamic at home: having honest conversations about responsibility, creating space for both parents' needs and recognising that wanting time for yourself doesn't make you selfish. We also talk about the enormous standards mothers place on themselves, comparison, mum guilt and why sometimes “good enough” really is enough.
This is a funny, validating and incredibly relatable conversation for any mother who has ever thought: Why does everything seem to fall to me?
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
How to recognise if you’re the default parent

Why the mental load so often falls to mothers

How to start sharing responsibility more equally

Why motherhood can leave you feeling like you’ve lost yourself

How to let go of guilt and make space for yourself again

Watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Zoe’s conversation with
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Key Topics
Default parent • Mental load • Invisible labour • Overwhelmed mothers • Mum guilt • Parental burnout • Sharing the load • Motherhood identity • Relationships after children • Maternal mental load • Asking for help • Self-care for mothers • Working motherhood • Losing yourself in motherhood • Parenting roles

If the summer holidays have left you feeling overstimulated, overwhelmed and like you haven't had five minutes to yourself, this Moment is for you.
When the children are around more, routines disappear and the noise, demands and mental load feel relentless, it's incredibly easy for our nervous systems to tip into stress mode. You might find yourself snapping over something tiny, wanting to escape to another room, giving in because you can't handle one more request—or simply shutting down completely.
In this Moment, Zoe explains what's actually happening in your nervous system when motherhood feels too much, and why these reactions aren't something to feel ashamed of. She shares simple techniques you can use in just a few minutes to move out of fight, flight, freeze or fawn, widen your window of tolerance and release some of the stress you've been carrying.
You'll also discover why completing the stress cycle can be so important for preventing burnout, and how changing the way you speak to yourself can help you feel calmer and more regulated when family life gets intense.
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Moment
How to recognise your own stress response

A simple breathing technique to calm your nervous system

How to complete the stress cycle and release built-up tension

Why your inner critic makes overwhelm feel even harder

How five minutes a day can help you feel calmer and more regulated

If this Moment resonates, you can listen to the full episode here: Can 5 minutes a day really change your motherhood?
And if you want to put these ideas into practice, Zoe teaches them step-by-step inside Five Minute Motherkind—21 days of simple five-minute practices designed to help you feel calmer, happier and more like yourself again.
Get the first 3 episodes of the 21-Day Motherkind Reset - completely free.
Watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.