With a long list of achievements behind her, Lisa assumed motherhood would come easily. Instead, the lack of control and constant crying from her colic baby left her feeling like she was failing. She was diagnosed with depression at five months postpartum, but through therapy, support, and learning to ask for help, Lisa approached her second pregnancy differently, creating space for a different experience of motherhood.

At 18 weeks pregnant, Aimee’s waters ruptured — but against all odds, her pregnancy continued and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Despite the outcome she had hoped for, she felt as though she was living the worst-case scenario she had feared. Aimee hid her suffering for weeks, until her husband found her in a heap on the floor.

When Ella reflects on motherhood, she speaks about two contrasting realities: the dream she had held onto for years, and the nightmare she was confronted with when she became a mother. Beneath that disconnect, she experienced depression and rage, revealing the emotional toll of navigating early motherhood when nothing feels as expected.

A successful economist and self-described high achiever, Kathryn entered motherhood expecting control and certainty — but quickly learned that perfectionism and motherhood do not mix. Her experience of perinatal OCD and depression challenged everything she thought she knew about herself, while her relationship with her psychiatrist became central to her recovery.

After a joyful first postpartum experience, Tegan was unprepared for how quickly her mental health unravelled the second time. As her OCD intensified and her symptoms were repeatedly dismissed, she struggled to access the care she needed, until finally she was admitted to a mother-and-baby unit — all thanks to the help of an unlikely stranger.

Rebecca had spent most of her life imagining motherhood — but not the mental breakdown that led to a psychiatric admission just days after her son’s birth. In part two, she reflects on a postpartum experience, shaped by OCD and PTSD, that unfolded in ways she never could have imagined.

With a long history of anxiety, Rebecca did everything she could to prepare for and protect her mental health in postpartum. But in focusing so heavily on what came after birth, she didn’t recognise the anxiety escalating throughout her pregnancy.