When I first saw Emma Carpenter’s (aka this_mama_doodles) brutally honest take on motherhood as depicted in her artwork that she shares on Instagram, I knew I had to have her on the podcast. What I didn’t know at the time was that not only is Emma an amazing artist, she is also a midwife and an enthusiastic and eloquent speaker who made a truly excellent guest.

Just like her drawings, Emma’s views on parenting do not come sugar coated. She shares what it is truly like to be a mother, hairy legs and all. There is no pretence and no pretending that motherhood isn’t anything but hard. But she does it with a sense of humour and a dry wit that cuts straight to the point.

Emma describes her start to motherhood as nothing short of ‘catastrophic’. Her pregnancy was littered with illnesses and food aversions and at one point she even went blind! Through her teens Emma struggled with an eating disorder so she knew she would be in the high risk category for postnatal depression, and despite trying to prepare herself and her family for a bumpy road ahead she was still taken completely off guard by the crushing anxiety and extreme loneliness that followed the birth of her son Jack.

Now however Emma finds herself in good mental health and is able to reflect through her art the daily struggles of parent life, body image and her relationship with her husband and child. And with baby number two on the way I can’t wish Emma enough health and happiness over the exciting months ahead.

I hope you enjoy the episode. Pamela x

To see Emma’s artwork please follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/this_mama_doodles/

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz