Welcome, dear listener, to this week’s episode of The Happy Mama Movement Podcast.

In this conversation, Amy Taylor-Kabbaz speaks with Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett — journalist, author, and columnist for The Guardian and Vogue — about the profound emotional and political layers of motherhood. Through her own journey, Rhiannon reflects on the uncertainty of choosing to have children, the unspoken vulnerability that follows, and the urgent need for better systems of care and community support for parents everywhere.

Together, they explore the tension between personal transformation and societal expectation — how motherhood reshapes identity, challenges old narratives, and reveals how deeply entwined the personal is with the political.

We talk about:

• 🌸 The tender uncertainty of becoming a mother — how few of us ever feel entirely “ready,” and how the decision to have children is layered with love, doubt, and longing.
• 🌿 The lifelong vulnerability motherhood brings, and how stepping into this role opens us to both immense joy and profound change.
• 🏠 Why the nuclear family no longer serves us, and how true support is found in wider circles of care — in community, friendship, and shared responsibility.
• 💗 The importance of mental health and open conversation, breaking the silence around the realities of matrescence and the emotional demands of caregiving.
• 🔥 The political awakening of motherhood, and how naming these challenges can become a radical act of truth-telling and transformation.

This episode is an invitation to see motherhood not just as a private journey, but as a deeply collective experience — one that calls for compassion, honesty, and courageous change.

If this conversation resonates, please share it with another mama who may need to hear that she is not alone. Together, we can rewrite the story of what it means to mother in today’s world.

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a journalist and writer. She is the co-author of The Vagenda, and the author of the novel The Tyranny of Lost Things, and the critically acclaimed memoir, The Year of the Cat, about deciding whether or not to have a baby. She is a columnist for the Guardian and Vogue, and has written for Elle, Stylist, the New Statesman, the Independent and Time.

📸 Instagram: @rhiannonlucycosslett

✖️ X (Twitter): @rhiannonlucyc

CHAPTERS:

00:00 The Journey to Motherhood: A Personal Exploration

05:55 The Reality of Motherhood vs. Expectations

11:43 Navigating Mental Health Postpartum

17:46 The Need for Support Systems in Parenting

23:41 Motherhood as a Political Experience

29:40 Hope and Change in Parenting Dynamics

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Welcome back, mamas.

In this return episode, I want to share something close to my heart — a reflection on my own journey through burnout, vulnerability, and change. Over the past few months, I’ve been reminded just how hard it can be to pause, to admit that we’re struggling, and to honour our need for rest. Motherhood asks so much of us, and yet within the breaking down, there is always a quiet invitation to begin again — softer, truer, more aligned with who we’re becoming.

Key Takeawways: :

• 🌸 The courage to be honest about our struggles, and the healing that comes when we stop pretending we’re okay.
• 🌿 The necessity of rest, and how stepping back allows space for renewal.
• 🌀 The shifting identity of matrescence, and how breaking down can become a breakthrough.
• 💗 Letting go of old patterns, trusting that what falls away is making space for something more real.
• 🌈 Embracing change, and remembering that transformation is part of our rhythm as mothers.

If you’re feeling stretched, tired, or unsure right now — please know...

You are not alone.

We are most definitely in this together.

Amy is a writer, speaker, coach, and mother who has spent over a decade exploring the transformation of matrescence — the complete identity shift that happens when a woman becomes a mother. Through her award-winning podcast The Happy Mama Movement and her global coaching program Mama Rising, Amy helps women and professionals understand and honour this life-changing rite of passage with compassion and truth.

🌐 amytaylorkabbaz.com

📸 Instagram: @amytaylorkabbaz

Chapters

00:00 Relaunching the Podcast: A Personal Reflection

03:00 The Need for Rest: A Mother’s Journey

06:09 Breaking the Cycle: From Superwoman to Vulnerability

10:06 Navigating the Liminal Space: Transformation and Identity

15:07 Embracing Change: Lessons from the Journey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back, beautiful mamas, to this week’s episode of The Happy Mama Movement Podcast.

In this heartfelt and deeply persona TAKE THE MIC episode, Lee Tracey — a Sex Educator, Matrescence Coach, Yoga Teacher, and Acupuncturist — shares her story of awakening, healing, and reclamation. Through her own matrescence journey, Lee uncovered not only the physical challenges of postpartum life but the profound transformation of identity, sexuality, and self that comes with becoming a mother.

Drawing on both lived experience and professional insight, Lee shines light on an often-silent truth: that up to 88% of women face changes in sexual health and wellbeing during the perinatal period. Yet so few are offered support or understanding. Her story is both an invitation and a revolution — calling us back to our bodies, our pleasure, and our wholeness.

LEE SHARES:

• The unspoken reality of perinatal sexual dysfunction and how common — and normal — these experiences are.
• Matrescence as a profound rite of passage — one that cracks us open to healing, reclamation, and truth.
• The enduring split between motherhood and sexuality, and how cultural conditioning shapes our sense of worth.
• Lee’s powerful personal story — from physical pain and disillusionment to embodied healing and liberation.
• Practical pathways to support — from pelvic floor care to open, shame-free conversations around women’s sexual health.

Lee’s solo reflection is raw, liberating, and tender — a reminder that our sexuality and our motherhood are not opposing forces, but intertwined expressions of our deepest humanity.

If this episode moves you, please share it with another mother who may need to hear these words. Together, we can break the silence and honour the full spectrum of womanhood.

Lee Tracey is a women’s health and sexual wellbeing professional. She is a trained professional Sex Educator, certified through The Sexual Health Alliance (AASECT) , a certified Matrescence Coach (ICF) certified through Amy Taylor Kabbaz & also an Acupuncturist. She is the co-founder of Reformation Studios and has been teaching yoga and leading training's for over a decade & has qualifications in multiple disciplines and lineages. She is a passionate and professional advocate for Women's Health focused on providing support & education.e.

Reformation.ie

LeeTracey.ie

📸 Instagram: @LeeTraceyLife

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.