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Explore every episode of the podcast Motherkind

Dive into the complete episode list for Motherkind. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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TitlePub. DateDuration
Why You’re Still Carrying the Mental Load—Even When Your Partner Helps12 Oct 202600:11:12

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Does it ever feel like you’re the one who has to remember everything?

The school dates, the appointments, the birthday presents, the never-ending list running through your head—even when you’re supposed to be resting.

In this Motherkind Moment, Zoe and Jada explore the invisible mental load of motherhood, why we so often become the default parent, and how to start sharing responsibility without having to oversee everything ourselves.

They also discuss the skills motherhood gives us—from clearer communication to prioritisation—and why becoming a mother can make us better leaders.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything you’re holding, this conversation offers a starting point for change.

💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:

  • Why the mental load can feel relentless, even when nobody else can see it.

  • How to begin handing over responsibility and letting go of overseeing every task.

  • Why small changes to family routines can help you work more as a team.

  • How the skills you develop as a mother translate into the workplace.

Watch every full 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 can listen to the full episode here: The "Old You" is Gone, Here's How to Embrace Who You're Becoming

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

  • Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Key topics: Mental load of motherhood • Sharing the mental load • Default parent • Invisible work of motherhood • Sharing parenting responsibilities • Communication with your partner • Decision fatigue • Motherhood and leadership skills • Balancing motherhood and work

Vex King: What Your Children Really Learn When You Always Put Yourself Last08 Oct 202600:46:36

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Do you say yes when you mean no, then feel guilty for wishing you’d put yourself first?

In this heartfelt conversation, author Vex King joins Zoe to explore people-pleasing, self-worth and why caring for everyone else can leave us disconnected from ourselves.

Vex shares the extraordinary story of his mum, who raised three children alone after losing his dad, navigating poverty, homelessness and racism. He reflects on what her love and resilience taught him, and why, as a child, his greatest wish was simply for her to be happy.

Drawing on his new book, You Can’t Please Everyone, Vex explains the difference between making sacrifices for the people we love and losing ourselves in the process. He and Zoe explore how to recognise people-pleasing, reconnect with what matters to you and start setting boundaries, even when your voice shakes.

If you’re exhausted from trying to keep everyone happy, this conversation is a reminder that your needs, dreams and happiness deserve space too.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to recognise when caring for others becomes self-abandonment

  • Why resentment can be a sign you’ve said yes when you wanted to say no

  • A simple exercise to help you identify your values and trust your decisions

  • How to start setting boundaries without feeling overwhelmed

  • What we model to our children when we make room for our own needs

  • Why you can be a kind person and still say no

Watch every full 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 Nedra Glover Tawwab: Why Mothers Feel So Resentful (And The Boundaries That Change Everything) 

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

  • Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Dr Helen O’Neill: Why Are Women Carrying So Much of the Fertility Burden?05 Oct 202600:11:00

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes discussion of miscarriage and fertility difficulties.

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Why does so much of the pressure around fertility fall on women?

In this Moment, Dr Helen O’Neill joins Zoe to explore the often-overlooked role of sperm health and why trying for a baby needs to be a shared responsibility.

Zoe opens up about her own experience of miscarriage and the anxiety she felt during her next pregnancy. Together, they discuss how keeping early pregnancy private can leave women without support when they need it most, and why being told to “just relax” can feel so painful.

It’s an honest conversation about the emotional weight of trying to conceive, feeling supported and why women shouldn’t have to carry it all alone.

💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:

  • Why sperm health deserves more attention in fertility conversations

  • The loneliness of pregnancy loss and the pressure to keep it private

  • The emotional toll of trying for a baby after miscarriage

  • Why reassurance and support matter more than being told to “just relax”

Watch every full 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 can listen to the full episode here: Dr Helen O’Neill: We Know Less About Miscarriage Than We Do About Mars

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

  • Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Mimi Ikonn: I Thought Having a Baby Would Bring Us Closer — But Our Marriage Fell Apart01 Oct 202600:43:22

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

What happens when your life looks perfect from the outside, but deep down you know something isn’t right?

Mimi Ikonn had built a successful business, a marriage and a family, but after becoming a mother, something began to shift. She felt increasingly alone in motherhood and slowly started to disconnect from her relationship without fully understanding what was happening.

In this deeply honest conversation, Mimi shares what ultimately led her to leave her 13-year marriage, why becoming a mother changed the dynamic of her relationship and the difficult decision to choose herself while raising a young daughter.

Mimi and Zoe also explore ambition after motherhood, mum guilt, asking for help, perfectionism, and why motherhood can force us to rethink who we are, what we value, and what success actually means.

At the heart of this conversation is a powerful reminder: choosing yourself doesn’t mean choosing your children any less.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why relationships can change so dramatically after becoming parents

  • How loneliness and resentment can quietly build in motherhood

  • Why asking for and accepting help is so important

  • How to balance ambition with being the mother you want to be

  • Why perfectionism becomes impossible once you have children

  • How to recognise when your life no longer feels aligned

  • Why choosing yourself can also model something powerful for your children

  • How self-acceptance can change the way you experience motherhood

Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.

Watch every full 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: The "Old You" is Gone, Here's How to Embrace Who You're Becoming — Jada Sezer

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

  • Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Key topics

Motherhood identity • Matrescence • Relationships after children • Marriage after motherhood • Divorce • Separation • Single motherhood • Mum guilt • Mental load • Resentment • Asking for help • Ambition after motherhood • Self-acceptance • Choosing yourself • Motherhood and relationships • Working motherhood • Perfectionism • Life transitions • Finding yourself again • Mimi Ikonn

Dr Martha Deiros Collado: Why Playing With Your Child Feels So Hard (And How to Make It Easier)29 Sep 202600:18:03

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Do you ever sit down to play with your child and, five minutes later, find yourself thinking about the washing, dinner or everything else you could be doing? Zoe does too.

In this special episode, created in partnership with Melissa & Doug, Zoe talks to Dr Martha Deiros Collado, a clinical psychologist specialising in parenting and child development, about why play can feel difficult for adults, especially when we’re used to being busy and productive. Dr Martha explains how play helps children process their day and connect with us, and shares simple ways to make it more enjoyable for parents too.

You don’t need to invent elaborate games or become your child’s entertainer. Sometimes five or ten minutes together, following their lead, is enough. And if you’re hoping to encourage independent play, Dr Martha has a wonderfully simple idea you can try before they even come home from school.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why finding play boring sometimes is completely normal

  • How to choose activities you enjoy as well as your child

  • What children may be telling us when they ask us to play

  • A simple way to invite more independent play

  • Why toys that leave room for imagination can be so engaging

Watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe. 

This episode is made in partnership with Melissa & Doug. Discover toys designed to inspire imaginative play at Amazon.co.uk: Melissa & Doug and help your little one find the extraordinary in the ordinary. ✨

Connect with Zoe:

Key Topics

Playing with your children • Why parents find play difficult • Parent guilt • The pressure to be productive • Imaginative play • Pretend play • Independent play • Child development • Connection through play • Play after school • Helping children process emotions • Encouraging creativity • Open-ended toys • Following your child’s lead • Making play enjoyable for parents • Quality time with children

Strength Training Expert Elizabeth Davies: The Postpartum Check Most Mothers Don’t Know They Need28 Sep 202600:10:30

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Have you ever gone back to a fitness class after having a baby and wondered why nobody asked how your body was doing?

In this Motherkind Moment, women’s fitness coach Elizabeth Davies talks to Zoe about pelvic floor symptoms that can be hard to bring up at the gym, and the support many mothers don’t know is available. Elizabeth explains what a pelvic health physiotherapist can help with, including an individual assessment and a plan for returning to the movement you enjoy.

They also discuss why being “18 months postpartum” doesn’t automatically mean your body is ready to pick up where it left off. Whether you want to run, skip or lift weights again, Elizabeth’s advice is to find a starting point that suits you and build gradually. There’s no deadline to get back to it.

💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:

  • What a pelvic health physiotherapist does and how you may be able to access one

  • Why it’s okay to speak up if you experience leaking or something feels wrong during exercise

  • How to approach running and other high-impact activities gradually

  • Why returning to exercise doesn’t have to be a race

Watch every full 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 can listen to the full episode: The ultimate (realistic) guide to fitness in motherhood, with Elizabeth Davies

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

  • Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

How to Change Career When You Have No Idea Where to Start24 Sep 202600:30:06

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

What if the career you worked so hard to build no longer fits the woman you’ve become?

If motherhood has changed what you want from work, you may know something needs to shift without knowing what to do next. Perhaps you’re worried about money, childcare, or whether the skills you’ve spent years building will transfer to something new. I’ve been there. I left corporate marketing and built Motherkind gradually, alongside the responsibilities of family life.

In this solo episode, I’m sharing MOVE, the career change framework I’ve used with mothers in my coaching practice. We’ll start by defining what success means to you now, including your income, energy and family life. Then we’ll look at your skills and the interests that could point towards your next move.

I’ll also show you how to test an idea before committing to it, and how to make a practical 30-, 60-, and 90-day plan. You don’t need to have your whole future worked out today. You need a way to explore what’s possible and take the next step.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Map: Define success for this season of your life and picture your ideal working day.

  • Options: Recognise your technical and transferable skills, then find your “red thread”.

  • Validate: Test a career or business idea through conversations and small experiments.

  • Execute: Work out your financial needs and build a 30-, 60-, and 90-day plan.

  • Why you can build a new path alongside your current work.

Watch every full 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 the episode Zoe recommended you listen to next: How To Find A Career You Genuinely Love That Works for Your Life 

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

  • Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Key topics: Career change after motherhood • Working mothers • Matrescence • Career confidence • Transferable skills • Finding fulfilling work • Starting a business • Work and family life

Millie Mackintosh: The Coping Strategy That’s Making Mothers More Anxious21 Sep 202600:10:25

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Does the thought of getting through bedtime without that evening glass of wine feel almost impossible?

Motherhood can leave your nervous system completely overwhelmed. You’re overstimulated, exhausted, carrying the mental load and desperately looking for something that will help you switch off. It makes sense that alcohol can begin to feel like the quickest way to find relief.

But what if the thing helping you cope in the moment is actually making you feel more anxious, affecting your sleep and leaving motherhood feeling even harder the next day?

In this powerful Moment, Zoe is joined by author, entrepreneur and Made in Chelsea alumna Millie Mackintosh to unpack the reality behind “mummy needs wine” culture.

Millie shares how easily alcohol became intertwined with motherhood, from champagne after giving birth to drinking at children’s parties and counting down to that first evening glass. She explains why she eventually realised it was stealing her joy, and the practical first steps that helped her change her relationship with drinking.

This isn’t about judgement or labels. It’s an honest conversation for anyone who has wondered whether alcohol is still working for them.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why motherhood can make alcohol feel like such a powerful coping mechanism

  • How even moderate drinking can affect anxiety and sleep

  • Why “mummy needs wine” culture has become so normalised

  • The signs that alcohol may be taking more from your life than it gives

  • How to explore your relationship with drinking without labelling yourself

  • The practical first steps Millie recommends if you know something needs to change

  • Why support, information and self-compassion can make changing your habits feel possible

Watch every full 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 Frankie Bridge: How to Stay Ambitious After Kids Without the Mum Guilt 

An honest conversation about anxiety, maternal mental health and giving mothers permission to admit when they are struggling.

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:

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

Motherhood and alcohol • Mummy wine culture • Grey-area drinking • Sober curiosity • Alcohol-free motherhood • Maternal anxiety • Anxiety after drinking • Alcohol and sleep • Nervous-system regulation • Overstimulation in motherhood • Maternal mental health • Mental load • Drinking habits • Emotional coping mechanisms • Sobriety • Self-care for mothers • Millie Mackintosh • Bad Drunk • Motherkind

Fitness Expert Stef Williams: I Thought I’d “Bounce Back” After Birth — Then Everything Changed.17 Sep 202600:54:02

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

What happens when your career is built around fitness and, after having a baby, you realise you don't actually want to rush to get your old body or routine back?

This week, Zoe is joined by fitness expert, entrepreneur and WeGLOW founder Steph Williams, just four-and-a-half months after becoming a mother, for an incredibly honest conversation about postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, exercise, body image and the enormous identity shift that happens when you have a baby.

Steph shares the reality of breastfeeding and why stopping to return to work left her feeling unexpectedly emotional and guilty. She also opens up about the pressure she felt to “bounce back” after birth — particularly as someone whose career has been built around fitness, strength and her body.

But motherhood changed her perspective. Instead of rushing back to the person she was before, Steph realised that exercise would always be there — these first months with her baby wouldn't be.

We talk about how to return to exercise after having a baby without falling into an all-or-nothing mindset, why a 10-minute workout still counts, and what “listening to your body” actually means. Steph shares how she's learned to adapt movement depending on what her body needs rather than forcing herself through a rigid training plan.

Steph also shares her experience of endometriosis, being dismissed before eventually receiving a diagnosis, and how that experience led her to learn more about women's hormones, menstrual cycles, nutrition and exercise. We explore how understanding your cycle can help you adjust the way you move and eat — and why women deserve far better education about their own bodies.

This is a conversation about fitness, but it's really about something much bigger: letting go of who you thought you'd be after having a baby and learning to work with the woman and body you are now.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to approach exercise after having a baby without “bounce back” pressure

  • Why 10 minutes of movement still counts when you're exhausted or short on time

  • How Steph navigated breastfeeding guilt and returning to work

  • How to move away from all-or-nothing thinking around fitness

  • How your menstrual cycle can influence your energy, appetite and approach to exercise

Watch every full 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 Elizabeth Davies - The ultimate (realistic) guide to fitness in motherhood

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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

Postpartum exercise • Postpartum fitness • Exercise after having a baby • Postpartum recovery • Post-baby body • Bounce back culture • New motherhood • New mum • Matrescence • Breastfeeding • Breastfeeding guilt • C-section recovery • Returning to work after maternity leave • Working motherhood • Mum guilt • Motherhood identity • Women’s fitness • Women’s health • Hormones • Menstrual cycle • Cycle syncing • Exercise and your menstrual cycle • Endometriosis • Endometriosis symptoms • Pilates • Strength training for women • Postpartum workouts • Body image after pregnancy • Steph Williams • WeGLOW • Period Proof • Motherkind

Steven Bartlett’s CEO: How to Navigate Career and Motherhood Without Losing Yourself14 Sep 202600:11:34

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

What happens when you genuinely love your career and desperately want to be there for your children?

In this week’s Moment, we explore one of the hardest tensions of working motherhood: the feeling that however much support you have, there are some parts of being a mother you simply don’t want to outsource.

After taking on a huge new role with Steven Bartlett while six months pregnant with her third child, Amy Golding shares how motherhood completely changed the way she makes career decisions. Before having children, she thought combining work and family was largely a logistical challenge, something you could solve with enough childcare, money and careful planning. Then she became a mother and realised she'd forgotten something much harder to quantify: love.

We talk about the invisible mental load, wanting to be the primary attachment figure, the complicated emotions that can come with childcare, and why loving your work doesn’t make it any easier to miss the school plays, appointments and everyday moments with your children.

Because perhaps the tension between motherhood and ambition isn't an equation we're supposed to perfectly solve.

💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:

  • Why working motherhood can feel impossible to get right

  • How motherhood can change the way you make career decisions

  • Why childcare doesn't necessarily remove working mum guilt

  • The emotional side of the mental load we rarely talk about

  • How to navigate loving your career and wanting to be with your children

Watch every full 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, listen to the full episode: Steven Bartlett’s CEO: How I Make Career Decisions Around My Family

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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: 

Working motherhood • Working mum guilt • Career after children • Motherhood and career • Mental load • Invisible labour • Childcare • Career decisions • Motherhood and ambition • Maternal guilt • Work-life balance • Working parents • Motherhood identity • Primary attachment • Career change • Women at work • Returning to work after maternity leave • Maternity leave • Ambitious mothers • Modern motherhood • Motherkind 

Frankie Bridge: How to Stay Ambitious After Kids Without the Mum Guilt10 Sep 202600:52:01

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Motherhood changes so much — including what success, ambition and a fulfilling career actually look like.

This week, Zoe is joined by Frankie Bridge for a brilliantly honest conversation about working motherhood, career reinvention, confidence, mental health and letting go of the impossible standards we set ourselves as mothers.

Frankie has been working since she was 12, from S Club Juniors and The Saturdays to television and now building her own business, Faves. But becoming a mother forced her to rethink what success actually meant. She shares why having her two boys made her braver and more ambitious, but also far more protective of her time. Now, before saying yes to work, she asks whether it brings her joy, makes financial sense or genuinely moves the needle — because leaving her children has to be for a good reason.

We talk about reinventing your career after children and the fear that comes with starting something completely new. Frankie opens up about imposter syndrome as a founder and the important realisation that even the most successful people don't have everything figured out, they're learning as they go too.

Frankie also speaks incredibly openly about depression, anxiety and maternal mental health. She was talking publicly about her mental health at a time when those conversations were far less common, and shares why mothers need permission to admit they're struggling without first having to reassure everyone that they love their children.

We also explore something I think so many mothers will recognise: how easily the things that bring us joy disappear once we have children. Frankie shares why, after losing confidence in her singing following The Saturdays, she's started vocal training again — not for an audition or career goal, but simply because she loves it.

This is such a warm and reassuring conversation about ambition after motherhood, mum guilt, mental health, career pivots and permitting yourself to want something for yourself too.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How to redefine success after becoming a mother

  • Why having children can make you braver and more ambitious

  • How to navigate a career change when you don't have all the answers

  • Why mothers need things that bring them joy outside parenting

  • How to let go of guilt and impossible motherhood standards

Watch every full 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 Maria Hatzistefanis - The Rodial Founder on Burnout, Discipline and Why Hustle Culture Fails Mothers

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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

Working motherhood • Career after children • Mum guilt • Motherhood and ambition • Career change • Career reinvention • Working mum • Mental health • Maternal mental health • Depression • Anxiety • Motherhood identity • Confidence • Imposter syndrome • Starting a business • Female founders • Working parents • Work-life balance • Motherhood expectations • Parenting guilt • Self-care for mothers • Finding yourself after motherhood • Frankie Bridge • The Saturdays • Faves • Motherkind

Why You’re Being Overlooked in Your Career—and How to Stand Out Instead07 Sep 202600:11:37

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

What if the opportunities you’re waiting for aren’t passing you by because you lack experience, but because the right people don’t know what you’re capable of?

In this powerful Moment, Zoe is joined by personal branding expert and entrepreneur Amelia Sordell to explore why women need to stop waiting to be picked and start making themselves visible.

Amelia explains that your personal brand isn’t simply what you post on social media. It’s the impression you create through your values, behaviour, knowledge, experience and the way you show up in the world. You don’t need to become an influencer or add another overwhelming task to your life—but you do need to take control of your own story.

They explore why so many talented women and mothers downplay their achievements, while people with far less experience confidently put themselves forward. Amelia also shares the “big red button” moments that changed her life, from leaving a secure job with two young children to closing the multimillion-pound agency she no longer wanted to run.

Her message is simple but powerful: confidence doesn’t arrive before you act. Confidence is built by finding the courage to take a risk, discovering that you can handle it and then doing it again.

💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:

  • Why personal branding is about far more than posting on social media

  • How greater visibility can create career and business opportunities

  • Why women need to stop waiting for permission and choose themselves

  • How taking action before you feel ready builds genuine confidence

This Moment is for any mother who is questioning her value, considering a career change, building a business or waiting to feel confident enough to take her next step.

Watch every full 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 can listen to the full episode with Amelia Sordell - It’s Never Too Late to Change Career — The Blueprint from the #1 Personal Brand Expert

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Keywords: 

Personal branding • Confidence • Motherhood • Female founders • Women in business • Career change • Starting a business • Career confidence • Women’s confidence • Visibility • Self-belief • Courage • Taking risks • Choosing yourself • Returning to work • Maternal identity • Entrepreneurship • Ambition • Working mothers • Personal development • Amelia Sordell

Feeling Stuck? 5 Things to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do Next03 Sep 202600:13:31

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Feeling stuck in your career, relationship or life and have no idea what to do next? This episode is for you.

Eight months ago, I felt completely stuck. Motherkind had slowed down, opportunities weren’t coming in, and I couldn’t work out what direction to take next. I was scared, confused and overthinking absolutely everything.

Looking back, I can see that feeling stuck wasn’t the end. It was the beginning of a breakthrough.

In this solo episode, I’m sharing the five things that helped me move from feeling lost and full of self-doubt to clearer, more confident and more fired up than I have in years.

We’ll explore how to stop overthinking, change the thoughts keeping you stuck, take small actions when you can’t see the bigger picture, and use a simple future-self exercise to get clearer on what you actually want.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why feeling stuck can come before a breakthrough

  • How to stop overthinking and quieten self-doubt

  • Why focusing on problems can keep you stuck

  • The tiny actions that can help you find clarity

  • A future-self exercise to help you work out what you really want

If you know something needs to change but can’t see what comes next, this episode will help you take that first step forward.

Watch every full 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.

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Keywords:

Feeling stuck • How to get unstuck • Feeling lost in life • Career change • Career after motherhood • Overthinking • Self-doubt • Confidence • Mindset • Finding your purpose • Finding yourself again • Motherhood identity • Matrescence • Starting over • Life transitions • Self-belief • Future self • Goal setting • Personal growth • Nervous system • Comfort zone • Fear of change • Career confidence • Working mothers • Ambition after motherhood

The mistakes I made postpartum (and what I'd never do again)01 Sep 202600:13:34

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

After 10 years of motherhood, I’m really glad I did some things in those first few weeks, and plenty I’d do completely differently.

Nothing can quite prepare you for becoming a mother. Those early weeks can be full of love and joy while also feeling exhausting, overwhelming and completely identity-shifting. I certainly wasn’t prepared for the emotional whiplash of holding all of those feelings at once.

In this special episode, created in partnership with Tesco Fred & Flo, I’m looking back at my first experience of new motherhood and sharing what I got right, what I learnt the hard way and what I wish I’d known before having a baby.

We talk about setting boundaries with visitors (including my one rule that I still think was genius!), why new mothers need care rather than being expected to host, and the huge identity shift of matrescence that I knew absolutely nothing about when I had my first daughter.

I also share how the mental load began creeping into my relationship almost without us noticing, and the practical change my husband, Guy, and I made to create a more equal division of parenting and household responsibilities. Plus, I share the newborn essentials I genuinely found useful, what I spent time and money on that I probably wouldn't again, and some very practical tips for making those sleep-deprived early weeks a little easier.

Because when you're adjusting to life with a new baby, recovering from birth and trying to work out who you are now, the last thing you need is more pressure.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What I wish I’d known about new motherhood and matrescence

  • How to set boundaries with visitors after having a baby

  • How to stop the mental load becoming yours by default

  • The newborn essentials I actually used, and what I wouldn't bother with

  • Why asking for and accepting help matters so much postpartum

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. 

This episode is created in partnership with Tesco Fred & Flo, whose newly refreshed range of everyday baby essentials is designed to make those early days a little easier. You can discover the range in Tesco stores and online, and Tesco Clubcard members can currently get 4 for 3 across the range.

Exclusions apply. Clubcard event ends 7th September 2026. Clubcard or app required. Delivery charges may apply.  

Connect with Zoe:

Stop Doubting Yourself: The Simple Habit That Builds Real Confidence.31 Aug 202600:09:23

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

What if the reason you don’t feel confident isn’t that you lack ability, but because you’ve stopped noticing the evidence of how capable you really are?

In this powerful Moment, Zoe is joined by confidence expert and UPFRONT founder Lauren Currie to explore why so many mothers struggle to recognise their value—and the simple weekly practice that can help rebuild confidence and quieten your inner critic.

Lauren explains why confidence isn’t something you either have or don’t have. It’s a skill that can be strengthened by gathering real evidence of your progress, achievements and abilities. This is known as the “progress principle”: recording the things you’ve done, learned and handled well so that self-doubt can’t simply dismiss them.

They also explore why this matters beyond paid work. Motherhood develops valuable skills, but mothers rarely receive recognition or positive feedback for them. By actively noticing how you have grown, from handling a difficult moment more calmly to managing situations that once overwhelmed you, you can begin to change the story you tell yourself about who you are and what you’re capable of.

Lauren also shares the simple ten-minute Friday ritual she uses to build confidence, recognise her progress and quieten the feeling that nothing she achieves is ever quite enough.

💡 What You'll Learn in This Moment

  • Why mothers often struggle to recognise their own skills and value

  • How the progress principle can help build confidence and self-esteem

  • Why recording evidence of your achievements quietens your inner critic

  • How to identify the skills you have developed through motherhood

  • What to do if acknowledging your own strengths feels uncomfortable

  • The simple weekly reflection practice that can make your progress impossible to dismiss

Lauren’s three weekly reflection questions:

  1. What happened this week?

  2. What did I learn?

  3. What moves did I make towards my goals?

This Moment is for any mother struggling with low confidence, self-doubt, imposter syndrome or returning to work after maternity leave—and anyone who needs a reminder that her skills, knowledge and experience have real value.

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:  Work Series: If you're feeling low in confidence, listen to this - with Lauren Currie

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:

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.

“I’m a Better Mother Because I Work” — From The Woman Who Ran British Vogue Whilst Pregnant27 Aug 202600:57:45

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

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.

What if becoming a mother didn't make you less ambitious, less capable or less valuable at work,  but actually gave you skills that could make you better at your job?

This week, we're revisiting one of our most listened-to Motherkind episodes of the year, and it's a conversation I think every working mother needs to hear.

I'm joined by Vanessa Kingori, who became the first woman in British Vogue's history to become Publishing Director and found herself navigating pregnancy and new motherhood while leading one of the most powerful media brands in the world.

Vanessa shares the extraordinary pressure she felt when she became pregnant in such a senior position, including being told that her pregnancy was exactly why businesses were reluctant to put women into these roles. Rather than hiding it, Vanessa did the opposite: she became deliberately visible and set out to make things easier for the women who would come after her.

We talk about why working mothers so often feel they're failing at both work and home, even when they're actually performing brilliantly. Vanessa explains why motherhood can make women better at time management, decision-making, prioritisation and leadership — and why businesses that underestimate mothers are missing some of their greatest talent.

We also get practical about the juggle: asking for help, having honest conversations with your partner about the division of labour, building your village and surrounding yourself with people who support the life you're trying to create.

And Vanessa shares a powerful reminder for any mother questioning her career, ambition or identity: you don't have to choose one version of yourself. You can be ambitious and deeply present. A leader and a mother. Career-driven and family-focused. As Vanessa puts it, she's a better mother because she works — and a better business leader because she's a mother.

This is a conversation about working motherhood, career confidence, ambition, mum guilt and redefining what success looks like after children.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why motherhood can make you better at your job

  • How to navigate career ambition after having children

  • Why working mothers often feel they're failing when they're not

  • How to ask for help and create a more equal division of labour

  • How to build a career and motherhood around what matters to you

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 solo - The Problem Isn’t You, It’s Career Advice that Ignores Motherhood

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

The Myth That's Making Your Relationships Harder24 Aug 202600:12:29

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Have you ever felt like one person was supposed to carry the weight of your entire world — your happiness, your moments, your everything?

In this Monday Moment, broadcaster and author Anna Whitehouse, also known as Mother Pukka, shares the piece of relationship advice that completely changed how she sees love, family, and what a happy ending really looks like.

Anna opens up about the reality of divorce. Why it's one of the hardest things she's ever been through and shares the powerful reframe that helped her stop seeing herself as someone who "broke" her family. Together, Zoe and Anna explore what it really means to build a community around you, why putting everything on one person is quietly exhausting us all, and the simple one-minute practice that works better than any spa day. Whether you're in a relationship, navigating big changes, or just feeling the weight of trying to make one person your everything,  there is so much wisdom in this moment.

💡 What You'll Learn in This Moment

  • Why one person was never meant to be your everything

  • The 96-year-old fisherman whose wisdom changed Anna's whole outlook on love

  • The honest truth about divorce and why Anna refuses to call herself a "divorcee"

  • How to stop waiting for the Disney ending and start rewriting your own happy ending

  • The tiny one-minute practice Anna does between every part of her day

  • What Anna would say to herself five years ago standing at the edge of an impossible decision

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: Anna Whitehouse on Divorce, Burnout and Rebuilding

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:

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.

The Science Is Clear: Mothers Don't “Bounce Back” After Birth | Dr Federica Amarti20 Aug 202601:03:21

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

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:

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.

The Surprising Skill Every Child Needs to thrive in an Uncertain Future19 Aug 202600:29:19

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

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:

The Reframe That Made One Mother Feel Seen17 Aug 202600:08:11

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

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 Moment

  • Why "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:

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.

Lou Beckett: Why Mothers Carry So Much of the Mental Load and How to Change It13 Aug 202600:38:37

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

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:

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

The 5-Minute Reset Every Overwhelmed Mother Needs This Summer10 Aug 202600:11:27

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

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:

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.

Dr Mindy Pelz: The Surprising Cause of Brain Fog Every Mother Needs to Know06 Aug 202601:00:52

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

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've ever wondered why you're eating well, exercising, and still struggling with brain fog, exhaustion, or stubborn belly fat, this episode is going to completely change how you think about your body.

This week I'm joined by bestselling author and women's health expert Dr Mindy Pelz. We explore why so much health advice has been designed around male bodies, why chronic stress changes everything for women, and how understanding your hormones can help you feel calmer, think more clearly and work with your body rather than against it.

We also dive into fasting for women, why it isn't one-size-fits-all, what every mother should know about stress and self-care, and Dr Mindy's fascinating perspective on why perimenopause isn't something to fear—but a powerful new chapter of leadership and confidence.

Whether you're navigating early motherhood, feeling overwhelmed by brain fog, or starting to think about perimenopause, this conversation is packed with practical, hopeful insights.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why chronic stress makes belly fat harder to lose

  • The surprising connection between fasting, brain fog and calm

  • Why women need a different approach to fasting than men

  • How to support your hormones through every stage of life

  • Why menopause could be your most powerful chapter yet

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:

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 Words

Women's health • Hormones • Fasting for women • Intermittent fasting • Brain fog • Belly fat • Stress • Cortisol • Metabolism • Blood sugar • Perimenopause • Menopause • Hormone health • Female health • Weight training for women • Protein • Nervous system • Burnout • Self-care • Maternal wellbeing • Energy • Longevity • Healthy ageing • Midlife • Motherhood • Women's wellbeing • Confidence • Emotional health • Motherkind

Why "Having It All" Is Making Mothers Miserable03 Aug 202600:12:02

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Have you ever looked around at your life and wondered why it feels so hard just to keep up?

In this powerful Moment, Dr Giselle Goodwin shares the personal turning point that changed the course of her life—and the research that followed.

After reaching a breaking point on her 35th birthday while juggling two young children and two businesses, Giselle became convinced she simply wasn't coping. But years later, after completing a PhD in women, work and wellbeing, she discovered something that completely changed her perspective:

It wasn't her that was failing. It was the impossible expectations placed on modern mothers.

Together, Zoe and Giselle explore why so many women feel overwhelmed, burnt out and like they're constantly falling short, despite doing more than ever before. If you've ever wondered why motherhood feels so much harder than you expected, this conversation will leave you feeling seen, understood and far less alone.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Moment

  • Why so many mothers feel like they're failing

  • The three jobs modern women are expected to do

  • The hidden pressures driving burnout and mum guilt

  • Why motherhood isn't the problem—our expectations are

  • The one message every overwhelmed mother needs to hear

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 Moment, listen to the full episode: Women's happiness has been declining since the 1970s - this is why and what we need to do about it, with Giselle Goodwin

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:

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.

Emma Grede: “The Parenting Rules I Refuse to Follow”30 Jul 202601:00:39

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

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.

Can you be an ambitious mother without feeling guilty?

Emma Grede believes you can, and that our children actually benefit when they see us fully expressed, fulfilled and living in alignment with our own values.

Emma is one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, co-founder of SKIMS, CEO of Good American, founding partner of Safely, investor on Shark Tank and author of Start With Yourself. But this conversation isn't really about business. It's about the invisible pressure mothers carry, the impossible standards we set ourselves, and how to build a life that feels true to you.

Together, Zoe and Emma explore why so many mothers feel depleted, how to let go of guilt, and why success looks different in different seasons of life. Emma shares the parenting philosophy that has helped her build multiple global businesses while raising four children and why she believes children don't need a perfect mother; they need one who is fulfilled.

They also discuss work-life balance, career ambition after children, asking for help, letting go of control, sharing the parenting load, and why learning to say no is one of the most powerful leadership skills a mother can develop.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why your children need a fulfilled mother, not a perfect one

  • How to let go of mum guilt and make decisions with confidence

  • Why success changes through different seasons of motherhood

  • How to stop doing everything and start asking for help

  • The boundaries that protect your time, energy and ambition

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 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.

Zoe’s favourite Aspire episode with Emma Grede: “Don’t Let Anyone Control You With Money” with Reese Witherspoon

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Why You Feel Guilty Resting in Motherhood (And Why You Don't Have to Earn It)27 Jul 202600:12:26

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Do you ever sit down to rest... only to feel like you should be doing something else?

In this Moment, Zoe is joined by psychologist and author Dr Nicola Jane Hobbs to explore why so many mothers struggle to slow down. The answer isn't that you're lazy, bad at resting or doing motherhood wrong. It's that your nervous system has learnt that being busy feels safe.

Together they explore why matrescence can feel like such a shock to our system, how years of rushing make stillness feel unfamiliar, and why learning to weave tiny moments of slowness into your day can help your nervous system feel calmer, safer and more regulated.

Nicola also shares a beautiful redefinition of rest: it's not just lying down or getting more sleep. Rest is anything that helps your nervous system switch off its stress response.

If you've ever struggled with mum guilt or burnout, or found it impossible to truly relax, this conversation will completely change the way you think about rest.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why your nervous system can experience slowing down as a threat

  • Why rest feels so uncomfortable after becoming a mum

  • Tiny ways to teach your nervous system that slowness is safe

  • A new definition of rest that actually feels achievable in motherhood

  • Why resting benefits both you and your children

Watch every full 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 moment, you can listen to the full episode here:  If you want to become an instantly relaxed mother, listen to this.

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

4 Simple Shifts to Enjoy the Summer Holidays, Not Just Survive Them23 Jul 202600:07:36

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Do you already feel the pressure to make this summer magical?

Maybe you're trying to juggle work, childcare, family holidays, the mental load and the constant feeling that you should be doing more. If so, this episode is for you.

In this solo episode, Zoe shares the simple mindset shifts that can help you let go of mum guilt, stop chasing the perfect summer, and focus on what your children will actually remember. She explores why asking for help before you're overwhelmed is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, why feeling guilty doesn't necessarily mean you've done something wrong, and how lowering the pressure can help everyone enjoy the holidays so much more.

If you're looking for practical advice to help you navigate the school holidays with more calm, connection and self-compassion, this episode is packed with simple reminders you'll come back to all summer long.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why feeling guilty doesn't mean you've done anything wrong

  • How to let go of the pressure to create the "perfect" summer

  • Why children remember how summer felt, not what you spent

  • The importance of asking for help before you reach burnout

  • Simple ways to reduce the mental load during the school holidays

  • How to create more connection with your children this summer

Watch every full 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 with Rachael Twumasi-Corson, The Lie of Work-Life Balance (And What Actually Works)

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:

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.

The Real Reason You Keep Snapping At Your Kids (And What to Do About It)20 Jul 202600:10:11

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Have you ever shouted at your child and been instantly overwhelmed with guilt?

If you've ever wondered, "Why did I react like that?" or worried that losing your temper means you're a bad mum, this Moment is for you.

In this honest Moment episode, Zoe shares a parenting moment she's not proud of and the powerful insight that completely changed how she understands motherhood anger. She explains why snapping at our children is rarely about the moment itself, what the "drip, drip, drip effect" teaches us about stress and emotional overload, and why your nervous system, not your parenting, is often driving your reaction.

You'll also discover simple, science-backed tools to regulate your nervous system throughout the day, understand what your anger might be trying to tell you, and replace guilt with greater self-compassion.

If you've been feeling overwhelmed, emotionally reactive or stuck in a cycle of snapping at your children and then feeling guilty afterwards, I hope this conversation reminds you that you're not failing. You're human, and there is another way.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why snapping at your children is rarely about the moment itself

  • The "drip, drip, drip effect" and how stress builds throughout the day

  • How to regulate your nervous system before reaching breaking point

  • Why anger is often a sign of unmet needs

  • Practical ways to widen your "window of tolerance"

  • How to repair after losing your temper without carrying shame

  • Why anger can become a catalyst for healthier boundaries and positive change

Watch every full 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 Moment, you can listen to the full episode: A New Way To Look at Your Anger

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:

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.

Nedra Glover Tawwab: Why Mothers Feel So Resentful (And The Boundaries That Change Everything)16 Jul 202600:52:05

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Do you ever find yourself saying yes when you desperately want to say no? Feeling resentful, overwhelmed or taken for granted, but not quite sure why?

In this week's Motherkind episode, Zoe sits down with therapist, bestselling author and boundaries expert Nedra Glover Tawwab to explore why so many mothers struggle to set healthy boundaries—and how learning to do so can transform every relationship in your life.

Together, they unpack why resentment is often a sign that a boundary is missing, how motherhood changes our friendships, and why boundaries aren't about controlling other people—they're about honouring your own needs. Nedra also answers real questions from the Motherkind community, covering everything from asking for help without micromanaging, navigating difficult family dynamics, setting boundaries with grandparents and in-laws, managing work expectations, and protecting your time without feeling guilty.

If you've ever struggled with people-pleasing, found yourself carrying the invisible mental load, or wondered why you're constantly feeling frustrated or emotionally exhausted, this conversation will leave you with practical scripts, compassionate insights and simple tools you can start using today.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why resentment is one of the biggest signs that a boundary is missing

  • What healthy boundaries actually are (and what they aren't)

  • Practical scripts to help you set boundaries without guilt

  • How to ask for help without micromanaging your partner or family

  • How motherhood changes friendships—and how to reconnect

  • What to do when someone repeatedly ignores your boundaries

  • How to navigate boundaries at work without feeling like you're letting people down

  • Why boundaries strengthen relationships rather than damage them

Watch every full 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 solo episode, You are not limitless: How to set boundaries

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

The 5-Minute Habit That Makes Juggling Work and Motherhood Feel Easier13 Jul 202600:10:16

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Does it feel like you're constantly juggling work, childcare, the mental load and everything else on your never-ending to-do list?

As the summer holidays begin, many mothers find themselves trying to balance work alongside having the children at home, leaving them feeling stretched, overwhelmed and like they're constantly falling behind.

In this Motherkind Moment, entrepreneur, writer and mum of four Rachael Twumasi-Corson shares why work-life balance isn't actually the goal—and what to aim for instead.

She introduces her simple 5-4-3-2-1 planning method, a practical daily tool that helps you prioritise what matters most, reduce overwhelm and create more harmony between work, motherhood and your own wellbeing.

If you've been feeling like you're spinning too many plates, this conversation will leave you with a fresh perspective and one practical habit you can start using today.

💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:

  • Why work-life balance often leaves mothers feeling like they're failing

  • The difference between work-life balance and work-life harmony

  • How the 5-4-3-2-1 planning method can reduce overwhelm

  • Why scheduling your priorities is more effective than reacting to everyone else's

  • Simple ways to create more time for yourself without guilt

Watch every full 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 The Lie of Work-Life Balance (And What Actually Works) with Rachael Twumasi-Corson

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:

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.

Why Motherhood Feels So Much Harder Than We Expected (You're Not Doing It Wrong)09 Jul 202600:42:17

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Why does becoming a mother change us so deeply? And why does nobody really prepare us for it?

So many mothers believe they're doing something wrong because motherhood feels harder than they expected. But what if the problem isn't you?

In this powerful conversation, writer and bestselling author Lucy Jones explains the life-changing concept of matrescence – the physical, emotional, psychological and identity transition of becoming a mother. It's a word that has helped thousands of women finally understand why motherhood can feel so overwhelming, and why it's never "just" about having a baby.

Lucy and Zoe explore why modern motherhood can feel so isolating, why we place impossible expectations on mothers, and how understanding matrescence can replace guilt and shame with self-compassion.

If you've ever found yourself thinking "Why don't I feel like myself anymore?" or "Why is this so much harder than I thought it would be?" this episode will help you realise you're not failing. You're going through one of the biggest transitions of your life.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What matrescence is and why every mother should know about it

  • Why motherhood changes your identity so profoundly

  • How understanding matrescence can reduce guilt, shame and self-blame

  • Why the problem isn't mothers — it's the way modern motherhood is designed

Watch every full 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 solo episodes: The word every mother needs to hear and Feeling Lost? This is how to rediscover you

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

The Burnout Doctor: Why So Many Mothers Think They're Failing (When It's Actually Burnout)06 Jul 202600:11:05

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Have you ever felt like you're failing at everything?

Like you're constantly trying harder, doing more and still feeling like you're falling behind?

In this powerful Motherkind Moment, GP and burnout expert Dr Claire Ashley shares the moment she realised she wasn't failing as a mother, doctor or partner - she was experiencing burnout.

Together, Zoe and Claire unpack why so many mothers blame themselves instead of recognising the signs of burnout, how stress affects both the brain and body, and why working harder often makes things worse.

Claire shares the emotional and physical symptoms she wishes she'd recognised sooner, explains why burnout can take years to recover from, and offers practical advice for spotting the warning signs before you reach crisis point.

If you've been feeling exhausted, overwhelmed or wondering why you just can't seem to cope anymore, this conversation will remind you that you're not failing - you may simply be carrying too much.

💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:

  • The early emotional and physical signs of burnout

  • Why so many mothers mistake burnout for personal failure

  • How burnout affects your brain and body

  • Why pushing harder can make burnout worse

  • The warning signs to look out for before burnout becomes a crisis

  • The mindset shift that can help you begin recovering sooner

Watch every full 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 The Burnout Doctor: It takes 1-3 Years to Recover From Burnout - Here’s How to Avoid It

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:

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.

The 3-Step Method To Replace Your Self-Doubt With Self-Belief02 Jul 202600:08:13

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.

Do you ever feel stuck in self-doubt?

Overthinking decisions. Questioning yourself. Wondering whether you're good enough, capable enough or ready enough.

In this solo episode, Zoe shares the simple mindset shift that transformed her relationship with confidence - and that she's seen transform the lives of hundreds of women she's worked with.

She explains why self-doubt isn't a sign that you're doing something wrong. In fact, it may be a sign that you're growing. Zoe explores why the brain is wired to keep us safe rather than help us thrive, how overthinking keeps us stuck, and the three practical steps that can help you move from self-doubt to self-belief.

Whether you're navigating motherhood, considering a career change, starting something new or simply wanting to trust yourself more, this episode will help you understand why confidence isn't something you're born with - it's something you build through action.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why self-doubt often appears when you're growing and changing

  • How your brain mistakes new experiences for danger

  • The surprising reason confidence doesn't come before action

  • How to stop believing every thought you think

  • Why taking small steps creates lasting self-belief

  • How building evidence changes the way you see yourself

Watch every full 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 this solo episode: Why Confidence Drops in Motherhood and How to Rebuild It

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Sonia Choquette: The Parenting Skill That Helps Children Trust Themselves29 Jun 202600:09:33
What if one of the greatest gifts we could give our children isn't confidence, resilience or achievement, but the ability to trust themselves?

In this powerful Motherkind Moment, Zoe is joined by intuition expert and spiritual teacher Sonia Choquette to explore why so many of us lose trust in our inner knowing, and how we can help our children stay connected to theirs.

Sonia explains why intuition isn't a gift reserved for a lucky few; it's a natural human ability that children are born with. Together, she and Zoe explore how fear, overthinking and the pressures of modern life can disconnect us from our instincts, and why learning to trust ourselves may be one of the most important skills we can develop.

Sonia shares a simple exercise for reconnecting with your intuition, explains why validating your child's feelings matters more than having the "right" answer, and reveals the parenting approach she believes helps children build lifelong self-trust.

If you've ever second-guessed yourself, struggled to trust your instincts or wondered how to raise children who feel confident in who they are, this episode is for you.

💡 In this episode, you'll learn:
  • Why intuition is a skill, not a gift

  • How fear and overthinking disconnect us from our instincts

  • A simple practice to help you reconnect with your inner voice

  • How to help your children trust themselves

  • Why emotional validation is so powerful for children

  • The parenting habit that strengthens confidence and self-belief

Loved this episode? 

You can listen to the full episode with Sonia Choquette - Why so many mothers feel overwhelmed and disconnected right now - and what to do next. It's packed with practical wisdom on intuition, parenting, confidence and learning to trust yourself again.

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. 

Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Dr Helen O’Neill: We Know Less About Miscarriage Than We Do About Mars25 Jun 202600:46:12

What if the reason so many women feel dismissed, confused and unsupported when it comes to their health isn't personal - it's systemic?

In this eye-opening conversation, Zoe sits down with scientist, reproductive health expert and Hertility founder, Helen O'Neill to explore the shocking reality of the gender health gap and what every woman needs to know about her body.

Helen explains why the female body has historically been understudied, how this impacts everything from diagnosis and treatment to fertility and hormones, and why so many women are left feeling disconnected from their own health.

Together, they unpack the menstrual cycle, hormone health, fertility myths, reproductive health challenges and the simple changes that can help women better understand what their bodies are trying to tell them.

This conversation will leave you seeing your body and your health in a completely different way.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
  • Why women's bodies have been overlooked by medical research

  • How hormones influence mood, energy, sleep, skin and mental wellbeing

  • What your menstrual cycle can tell you about your overall health

  • The early warning signs your body may be trying to communicate

  • Why reproductive health issues affect so many women

  • How to feel more informed, empowered and connected to your body

This Episode Is For You If...
  • You've ever felt confused about your hormones

  • You want to better understand your menstrual cycle

  • You're trying to conceive now or in the future

  • You've experienced period problems, fertility concerns or hormone symptoms

  • You want to feel more informed and empowered about your health

  • You're raising daughters and want them to grow up understanding their bodies

Watch every full 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 Frederica Amati, Birth Is The Equivalent of 10 Marathons, And It's Why You're Still Tired (Even Years Later)

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Sophie Power: The Photo That Changed How We See Motherhood22 Jun 202600:06:15
When a photo of ultra-runner Sophie Power breastfeeding her baby during one of the world's toughest races went viral, millions of people saw a powerful image of motherhood.But few knew the story behind it.

In this Motherkind Moment, Sophie shares what was really happening that day. From navigating pregnancy, pelvic floor recovery and breastfeeding, to running 106 miles around Mont Blanc with a three-month-old baby, Sophie reveals the invisible work, planning and determination behind the photograph.

What emerges is a powerful conversation about modern motherhood, the mental load, the physical demands of caring for a child and the challenge so many mothers face: how do we continue to pursue our goals while caring for the people we love most?This isn't a story about running. It's a story about redefining strength, challenging outdated systems and proving that motherhood and ambition can exist side by side.

You'll Learn
  • The story behind Sophie's viral breastfeeding photo

  • Why the image became a symbol of modern motherhood

  • The realities of returning to exercise after birth

  • How mothers carry both the visible and invisible load

  • Why motherhood shouldn't mean giving up your ambitions

  • What it means to redefine strength as a mother

If this Moment resonated with you, I'd highly recommend listening to the full episode (linked below). It's a powerful conversation about motherhood, ambition and why women should never have to choose between caring for their children and pursuing their goals.

Loved this episode? Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. 

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 can listen to the full episode - Why Being A Good Mother Might Mean Putting Yourself First 

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Dr Punam Krishan: Why So Many Mothers Feel Exhausted, Overwhelmed and Unseen18 Jun 202600:36:14

What happens when a doctor becomes the patient?

This week, Zoe sits down with GP, broadcaster and author Dr Punam Krishan for a powerful conversation about motherhood, health and what happens when we put ourselves last.

Following her recent breast cancer diagnosis, Punam reflects on recovery, the traumatic birth of her first child, severe postnatal depression, and the moment she realised that while everyone was focused on the baby, nobody was asking how she was.

Together, Zoe and Punam explore the "maternal health penalty" - why so many mothers normalise exhaustion, pain and overwhelm - and what needs to change so mothers receive the care and support they deserve.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why mothers often ignore symptoms and put their own health last

  • The hidden long-term impact of birth trauma and postnatal depression

  • What the "maternal health penalty" means and why it affects millions of women

  • How motherhood physically changes the brain, nervous system and body

  • The symptoms mothers should never dismiss as "normal"

  • How to advocate for yourself and get the healthcare support you need

If you've ever felt exhausted, unseen or wondered whether what you're experiencing is "just part of motherhood", this episode is for you.

Key Topics

Maternal health • Breast cancer • Postnatal depression • Birth trauma • Mental load • Maternal mental health • Women's health • Motherhood burnout • Pelvic floor recovery • Motherhood and identity • Menopause • Perimenopause • Mother's wellbeing • GP advice for mums • Nervous system healing • Parenting

Watch every full 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 Suzy Reading, The Cost of Being the Selfless One

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:

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.

Burnt Out, Overwhelmed and Running on Empty? Listen to This.15 Jun 202600:05:26
On paper, Maria Hatzistefanis had everything she had worked for. A hugely successful business, a loving family and a life many people would envy. But behind the success, she was burnt out, running on empty and wondering why she didn't feel happier.

In this powerful Moment, Maria shares the turning point that made her realise something had to change. She opens up about the reality of juggling work and family life, the pressure of always being the organiser, and why joy isn't something that simply arrives when we achieve enough - it's something we have to intentionally create space for.

Maria shares the routines, boundaries and practices that helped her move from surviving to feeling more present, connected and in control. From scheduling "me time" with the same importance as a work meeting to discovering meditation, breathwork and moments of stillness, this conversation is a reminder that our wellbeing deserves a place in the diary too.If you've ever felt exhausted despite having a life that looks good from the outside, or wondered why success doesn't automatically lead to happiness, this episode is for you.

💡 In this Moment, you'll learn:
  • Why success doesn't always lead to fulfilment

  • The hidden signs of burnout many mothers ignore

  • How to create more joy and presence in everyday life

  • Why scheduling time for yourself is essential, not selfish

  • How breathwork, meditation and spirituality can help restore your energy

  • Practical ways to feel more in control when life feels overwhelming

Loved this episode?

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. 

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 can listen to the full episode: The Rodial Founder on Burnout, Discipline and Why Hustle Culture Fails Mothers

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Why Mothers Need Time Alone (And Why It's Not Selfish)11 Jun 202600:13:37

When was the last time you were completely alone - with nobody touching you, talking to you or needing something from you?

In this episode, Zoe explores why so many mothers crave alone time and why that need isn't selfish - it's essential. If you've ever felt overwhelmed, overstimulated, touched out, exhausted or guilty for wanting space from your children, this episode will help you understand what's really happening in your mind and body.

Zoe unpacks the psychology of modern motherhood, the invisible mental load, emotional labour and the impact they have on a mother's nervous system. She explores why highly sensitive mothers and introverted mothers often experience overwhelm more intensely, how overstimulation can lead to burnout, resentment and mum rage, and why rest is not a luxury but a necessity.

You'll learn why guilt so often accompanies the need for space, how cultural expectations of motherhood keep women trapped in cycles of self-sacrifice, and how protecting even small moments of solitude can help you become a calmer, more present and more connected parent.

If you've ever wondered why you feel constantly needed, emotionally drained or like you've lost yourself in motherhood, this episode is for you.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why craving alone time is a healthy response to modern motherhood

  • How overstimulation, emotional labour and the mental load affect a mother's nervous system

  • Why highly sensitive mothers and introverted mothers often feel more overwhelmed

  • The difference between healthy solitude and signs of burnout, anxiety or depression

  • Practical ways to create guilt-free space and restoration in everyday life

  • Why taking care of yourself helps you show up more calmly for your children

Watch every full 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 solo episode Why Relaxation Feels Impossible for Mothers – and How to Finally Feel at Ease

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

The Hidden Reason You're Becoming Resentful08 Jun 202600:10:24
This episode is for every mother who's ever felt overwhelmed, resentful, or quietly stretched beyond her limits.

If you're holding everything together, saying yes when you want to say no, and wondering why you're exhausted, this conversation might change the way you think about boundaries forever.

In this powerful moment episode, Zoe explores why boundaries aren't selfish; they're essential. She shares the simple mindset shift that helped her move from people-pleasing to protecting her energy, her time, and her wellbeing, and explains why resentment is often the clearest sign that a boundary is needed.

Through honest stories from early motherhood and practical examples you can use immediately, Zoe shows how setting boundaries isn't about pushing people away - it's about creating the limits that allow you to show up as the mother, partner, friend and person you want to be.

💡 In this Moment, you'll learn:
  • Why boundaries are simply recognising that you are not limitless

  • The hidden link between resentment, overwhelm and burnout

  • How motherhood can help you become better at speaking up for your needs

  • The small boundary shifts that can transform your relationships

  • Why disappointing other people is sometimes necessary

  • A simple exercise to identify where you need stronger boundaries right now

If you've been carrying too much, feeling emotionally overloaded, or struggling to ask for what you need, this episode will leave you feeling validated, empowered and ready to make one small change that could make a big difference.

Loved this episode?

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. 

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 can listen to the full episode: You are not limitless: How to use boundaries

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

GQ Jordan: The Postpartum Nutritional Advice Every Mother Needs to Hear04 Jun 202600:39:52
Why do so many mothers feel exhausted, foggy and depleted - even years after giving birth?

In this episode, Zoe sits down with nutritionist GQ Jordan to talk about the realities of pregnancy, postpartum recovery and the nutritional foundations that help mothers feel more like themselves again.

Drawing on both her professional expertise and personal experience as a mother expecting her second child, GQ shares practical, reassuring advice on everything from managing sugar cravings and energy crashes to recovering from birth, supporting your mental health and letting go of the pressure to do everything perfectly.

This is a conversation for any mother who feels tired, stretched thin, constantly reaching for sugar, or wondering why looking after herself feels so difficult.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
  • Why so many mothers experience brain fog, exhaustion and sugar cravings - and the simple nutritional shifts that can help

  • How to support your recovery after birth, including the key nutrients often overlooked in postpartum

  • Why "bounce back" culture is keeping mothers depleted, and what to focus on instead

  • The mindset shift that helps ambitious mothers care for themselves without guilt

Watch every full 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 Dr Federica Amarti - Birth Is The Equivalent of 10 Marathons, And It's Why You're Still Tired (Even Years Later)

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Dr Alex George: Why We Struggle With Our Children’s Emotions - And How to Change It01 Jun 202600:06:22

Have you ever found yourself saying to your child, "You're OK, don't cry," whilst knowing you mean well, but feeling like something deeper is happening?

This week’s Moment explores a powerful idea: we can only hold our children's emotions to the extent that we can hold our own. So many of us grew up believing resilience meant pushing through, staying strong and keeping it together. But what if real resilience is actually the opposite?

In this conversation, Zoe and Dr Alex George explore the emotional patterns we inherit, why so many of us struggle to sit with difficult feelings, and how learning to hold our own emotions changes the way we parent. There’s a moment where Zoe shares a huge realisation: the reason she struggled with her children’s big feelings wasn’t because of them - it was because no one had ever taught her how to handle her own.

If you've ever felt uncomfortable with your child's tears, frustration or meltdowns, this episode might help explain why.

💡 In this episode, you'll learn:

  • Why resilience isn't about "pushing through"

  • The parenting patterns we pass on without realising

  • Why many millennial parents were never taught emotional processing

  • How our early years shape the way we respond to stress

  • A simple reframe that can help you hold difficult feelings - yours and your child's

Listen now and see whether this changes the way you think about emotions, resilience and parenting.

Loved this episode?

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. 

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 can listen to the full episode - Why Raising Resilient Kids Starts With Us with Dr Alex George

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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

Why You’re Snapping, Overthinking and Feeling Constantly On Edge (And What To Do To Stop)28 May 202600:14:17

You’re not failing. Your nervous system is overwhelmed, and there’s a reason why.

If you’ve been snapping, overthinking, lying awake at night, or feeling strangely disconnected from your own life, this episode will help you understand why.

Because it’s not a mindset problem.
It’s your nervous system.

In this solo, Zoe goes deeper than typical “nervous system” advice to explore what’s really driving overwhelm in motherhood and why so many of us feel stuck in survival mode, even when nothing is “wrong”.

This is about understanding the root, not just managing the symptoms.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why your nervous system feels stuck in survival mode (and why that makes sense)

  • How your past experiences shape your reactions in motherhood today

  • The hidden beliefs driving overwhelm, guilt, and reactivity

  • Simple, practical ways to calm your body and come back to baseline

This episode will help you stop blaming yourself and start understanding what’s really going on underneath.

Watch every full 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 Nicole Jane Hobbs and her episode, Why Relaxation Feels Impossible for Mothers – and How to Finally Feel at Ease

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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

Why Returning To Work After Maternity Leave Feels So Much Harder Than You Expected25 May 202600:07:56

Returning to work after having a baby isn't just a practical transition - for many mothers, it can feel like returning as a completely different person.You expected to feel rusty. You didn't expect to question your confidence, your identity, or whether you're still capable of doing the job you once knew so well.In this Moment, Zoe sits down with Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, to unpack one of the most overlooked parts of motherhood: the return-to-work transition.Joeli shares why this period can feel so overwhelming, how matrescence and brain changes can affect our confidence and sense of self, and why so many mothers believe they're failing when, in reality, the systems around them are failing them.This episode is a powerful reminder that if returning to work felt harder than you expected, there was never anything wrong with you.

💡 In this Moment, you'll learn:

  • Why returning to work after maternity leave can feel so emotionally challenging

  • The surprising brain changes of matrescence and how they affect confidence

  • Why do so many mothers struggle socially and professionally after having a baby

  • The hidden leadership skills motherhood develops

  • What better support for mothers could actually look like

Watch every full 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 can listen to the full episode - The Exhausted Mother’s Guide to A Successful Return to Work with Joeli Brearley

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

Steven Bartlett’s CEO: How I Make Career Decisions Around My Family21 May 202600:19:44

What happens when the dream career opportunity arrives… just as motherhood asks more of you than ever before?

In this deeply honest conversation, Zoe sits down with Amy, CEO of Steven Bartlett Private Office, to talk about the impossible equation so many ambitious mothers are trying to solve. From taking a huge new role whilst pregnant, to the tension between career ambition and wanting to be the primary attachment figure for your children, this episode is an incredibly raw exploration of modern motherhood, identity and work.

Amy shares the internal conflict so many mothers carry but rarely say out loud: that sometimes we don’t just work for our children, we work because part of us still deeply wants ambition, creativity, challenge and growth too.

This is an episode about intuition, guilt, love, matrescence and learning to live inside the contradictions of motherhood.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why motherhood completely changes the way you approach ambition, career decisions and success

  • The honest reality of trying to balance leadership, ambition and being the primary attachment figure at home

  • What happened when Amy told Steven Bartlett she was pregnant during the hiring process for her CEO role

  • How becoming a mother reshaped Amy’s leadership, priorities and understanding of happiness

This episode will especially resonate if you’ve ever felt torn between the part of you that wants to achieve… and the part of you that wants to be fully present at home.

You can connect with Amy via LinkedIn

Watch every full 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 Emma Grede on ambition, motherhood and self-expression.

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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 Your Child Is Really Triggering In You with Gabor Maté18 May 202600:09:55

What if your child’s behaviour isn’t something to control… but something to understand?

In this powerful conversation, Zoe sits down with one of the world’s leading voices on trauma, attachment and child development to explore the invisible patterns many of us carry into motherhood.

Why do our children’s big emotions feel so triggering? Why do we instinctively want to shut down tears, tantrums or "difficult" behaviour? And what if so much of what we’re reacting to has very little to do with our children at all?

This episode is a compassionate invitation to look beneath behaviour - theirs and ours - and understand how our own childhood experiences shape the mothers we become.

💡 In this moment, you’ll learn:

  • Why your child's "acting out" may actually be communication

  • The difference between behaviour that needs controlling and needs that need understanding

  • Why motherhood can bring unresolved parts of our own childhood to the surface

  • What it really means to be "triggered" by our children

  • Why caring for ourselves is one of the most important things we can do for our children

This conversation may completely change the way you think about tantrums, emotions and your own reactions.

Watch every full 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 can listen to the full episode - How our childhood shapes every aspect of our lives with Dr Gabor Maté

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

The NEW Career & Motherhood Playbook From The Woman Who Ran British Vogue Whilst Pregnant14 May 202600:57:25

What if the reason you feel like you’re failing… isn’t you?

In this powerful conversation, Zoe sits down with Vanessa Kingori OBE - former Publishing Director of British Vogue, Chief Business Officer at Condé Nast Britain, and one of the most influential women in global media.

Vanessa made history as the first woman to lead the commercial side of British Vogue in its 100+ year history, after already breaking boundaries as the first female publisher of GQ. 

She’s worked at the very top of global brands, including Condé Nast and Google, and is known for driving significant commercial growth while reshaping workplace culture.

But alongside all of that, she’s also a mother.

Vanessa shares the truth so many women feel but rarely say out loud: that motherhood is harder than we expected, not because we’re doing it wrong, but because the system around us isn’t built to support us.

From taking on one of the biggest jobs in media whilst trying for a baby to challenging outdated workplace norms around motherhood, this is a conversation about rewriting the rules for ourselves and the next generation.

This episode will leave you feeling seen, validated, and more confident in the way you’re navigating both work and motherhood.

💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why feeling like you’re failing at both work and motherhood is so common - and why it’s not the truth

  • The hidden strengths motherhood gives you (that workplaces massively undervalue)

  • Why we need to stop “hiding” motherhood at work and what happens when we don’t

  • How to build your “village” in a modern world where it no longer exists naturally

  • Why involving men in the parenting conversation is essential and how we’re getting it wrong

Watch every full 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 Joeli Brearley OBE - The Exhausted Mother’s Guide to a Successful Return to Work

Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet

Connect with Zoe:

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.

My Biggest Mistakes and Regrets in Motherhood and Work (and What I’d Do Differently)07 May 202600:44:14
Zoe has never shared her story like this before.💡 In this episode, she takes you behind the scenes of her journey through motherhood and work over the past nine years - the decisions, the trade-offs, the moments she’s proud of… and the ones she’d change if she could. This is the first episode in Motherkind’s special work series, and it starts here for a reason. Because from the outside, it can look like everyone else has it figured out.But the truth? No one does. In this conversation, Zoe shares what it really looked like to leave corporate, build Motherkind alongside early motherhood, and navigate burnout, loss, ambition, and identity… and how she’s learned (sometimes the hard way) to design a life that works for her.It’s honest, unfiltered, and deeply reassuring for any mother questioning her path. 💡 In this episode, you’ll learn: . The biggest mistakes Zoe has made in motherhood and work - and what she’d do differently now . What burnout actually felt like for her (and how she pushed herself into it) . The real tension between ambition and being a present mum . How to make peace with trade-offs and build work that fits your life Watch every full 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 Neha Ruch - Work Series: The Truth About Stepping Back from your career — And Coming Back even Stronger 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. For a £100 sponsored job credit, visit Indeed.com/ Motherkind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Do You Resent Your Partner For The Mental Load? Try This Expert Advice, with Dr Morgan Cutlip04 May 202600:08:23
Why does resentment feel so universal in motherhood - even in the strongest relationships? In this conversation, Zoe sits down with relationship expert, Dr Morgan Cutlip, to unpack the quiet, creeping dynamic so many mothers experience: the feeling that your life has completely changed and your partner’s hasn’t. This episode is a powerful reframe. It will help you understand where resentment actually comes from (it’s not what you think), why it often begins in the earliest days of motherhood, and how invisible patterns like “mental load”, “precedents”, and the myth of maternal instinct are shaping your relationship without you even realising. If you’ve ever thought, “Why am I the only one carrying this?” - this conversation will give you language, clarity, and a way forward. 💡 In this episode, you’ll learn: Why resentment in motherhood is so common - and what’s really driving it How the “mental load” quietly builds and becomes overwhelming What “precedents” are - and how they set up imbalance before you even notice Why the idea of “maternal instinct” can actually create inequality How early motherhood dynamics shape your relationship long-term Practical ways to start shifting the imbalance (without blame or conflict) Watch every full 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 moment, you can listen to the full episode here: Why you're resentful in your relationship—and how to fix it starting today, with Dr Morgan Cutlip 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. For a £100 sponsored job credit, visit Indeed.com/ Motherkind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Emma Grede: "Your kids don't need you to be their everything"30 Apr 202601:00:00
“Your kids don’t need all of you. They need a fully expressed version of you.” What if the pressure to be everything to your children is actually the thing making motherhood harder? In this powerful conversation, Emma Grede (entrepreneur, co-founder of SKIMS & Good American) shares a radically honest take on ambition, guilt, and what it really means to be a “good mother.” This episode is a permission slip to stop doing it all and start doing what actually matters. 💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode Why you don’t need to live up to anyone else’s version of motherhood How to let go of guilt (without letting go of your ambition) Why life isn’t about balance - it’s about seasons How to stop micromanaging everything (your kids, your partner, your life) Why putting yourself first is not selfish - it’s essential You don’t need to do it all. You just need to decide what actually matters and let the rest go. Watch every full 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 The Squiggly Career Experts - Success isn’t linear: 5 Steps to finally start defining your own path 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. Zoe’s favourite Aspire episode with Emma Grede: “Don’t Let Anyone Control You With Money” with Reese Witherspoon 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. Start your children’s reading journey with Usbourne Books Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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