Welcome back to the Regretful Parents series. This episode tackles what motherhood does to women’s bodies, mental health, and sense of self.

Erika and Kristen read a post from the Regretful Parents subreddit titled “Never Felt as Ugly as I Do Now as a Mom.”

A woman reflects on how pregnancy, postpartum life, chronic sleep deprivation, stress, and mental load have aged her physically and emotionally — and how devastating it feels to no longer recognize herself in the mirror. From "saggy apron bellies to lifeless eyes", celebrity “bounce-back” culture, Botox discourse, and why men somehow escape all of this entirely, the conversation spirals (as it should) into a full-blown rant about how cruel, unfair, and deeply misogynistic the expectations placed on mothers really are.

Topics include:
Postpartum body changes no one warns you about
Why stress and sleep deprivation visibly age womenThe lie of “bouncing back” after pregnancy
Celebrity beauty standards are fully rage-inducing
Why motherhood drains women and barely touches men
And the eternal question: why do we keep doing this to ourselves?

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And as always: don’t get pregnant.

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