Maternal Instinct: Warning Signs, Deception, and Healthy BoundariesLicensed therapists Joy and Rebecca discuss Netflix’s documentary Maternal Instinct, focusing on the murder of 21-year-old Reagan Simmons-Hancock and her unborn baby, Braxlyn Sage Hancock, and emphasizing sensitivity to victims and families. They explain they are not a true-crime podcast but aim to educate listeners about dangerous interpersonal dynamics, warning signs, and how deception escalates, noting fetal abduction is extremely rare and typically involves a woman fabricating pregnancy for weeks or months. They describe perpetrator Taylor Parker’s long history of lying, manipulation, and secondary gain, and discuss how trust, confirmation bias, and “nice” presentations can obscure risk, especially in close relationships. They highlight red flags like rapid reactivity, flipping blame, and long barrage text messages, and contrast these with healthy relationship markers: honesty, accountability, and safe hard conversations, encouraging boundaries and seeking therapy.00:00 Welcome and Purpose01:19 Maternal Instinct Warning01:52 Honoring the Victims02:56 Why True Crime Hooks Us03:49 Deception and Red Flags06:03 Fetal Abduction Facts09:16 Trust and Warning Signs10:23 Family Dynamics and Boundaries15:53 Trauma and Personality Traits19:10 Manipulation and Gut Instinct21:17 Text Novels and Boundaries25:13 Shame Empathy and Facades29:05 Healthy Relationship Markers31:13 Closing Support and Resources