The Mama Circle

After 95 episodes, The Mama Circle is taking a short season break. The full archive is still here while I step out of weekly production for a few weeks and give some intentional thought to how the podcast grows and what comes next. The next new episode will be released around the middle of October. Make sure to follow The Mama Circle so it appears in your podcast app when it’s ready. Listener Surv...

Most couples ask, “Can we afford to have a baby?” But that conversation often focuses on nappies, childcare and maternity leave, rather than what becoming parents could mean for each person’s financial future. In this episode, I’m sharing the money conversations I think couples should have before having children, during pregnancy or even after becoming parents. We talk about career goals, parental...

How do you make time for sex after having kids when you’re exhausted, touched out and barely have time to speak to your partner? In Part 2 of my conversation with somatic intimacy coach and embodiment teacher Alice Jackson, we talk about what intimacy can realistically look like after becoming parents and why having less time doesn’t have to mean losing your connection completely. We talk about: M...

Why don’t I feel sexy since becoming a mum? If your desire has disappeared, your body no longer feels like your own or being touched is sometimes the last thing you want, there may be very good reasons. In this episode, I’m joined by somatic intimacy coach and embodiment teacher Alice Jackson for an honest conversation about sex, desire and reconnecting with your body after becoming a mum. We talk...

What if your child prefers being at their other parent's house? It's a fear that caught me completely off guard when my son was away with his dad. Not because I thought he might love his dad more, but because their household can afford experiences that I sometimes can't. As a single mum parenting on a tighter budget, what happens when one house can say yes to festivals, meals out and more days out...

I'm 3 days into a child-free week and I'm REALLY enjoying it. In this episode, we're talking about mum guilt, the mental load of motherhood, and why enjoying time away from your child doesn't make you a bad mum. What happens when your brain finally has space to think? And does loving your own freedom mean you love your child any less? • Mum guilt and time away from your child • The mental load of...

We say mums need a village. But we cannot build one while publicly humiliating the women we disagree with. After Nara Smith appeared on Call Her Daddy to discuss the trad wife label, motherhood and her daughter’s cancer treatment, social media filled with reactions. Some offered thoughtful criticism of the unrealistic image of motherhood she has helped to create. Others became parody, personal att...

Where do mums go with the thoughts they can't say out loud? We all filter ourselves depending on who we're with. That's normal. But what happens when there is nowhere we can tell the whole truth? In this episode, Natalie explores why every mum needs at least one place where she can speak honestly without judgement, interruption or advice. From therapy and Mama Circles to It's A Lot , this conversa...

Most women prepare for pregnancy. Far fewer prepare for what motherhood does to their long-term finances. In this episode, Nat explores the motherhood penalty, why women's earnings often fall after having children while men's continue to rise, and why the biggest financial cost of motherhood isn't nappies or childcare, but the change to your entire financial trajectory. If you're already a mum, or...

Sometimes the hardest part of parenting isn't loving your child. It's feeling like you just don't click. In this episode, Nat explores a Reddit post that asks a question many parents are too afraid to admit out loud. Could it be that some parents and children are simply less naturally compatible? Together, we unpack why our children aren't "mini us", why personality matte...

For many of us, that’s exactly what we expected. We’d share the load, support each other, and figure parenting out together. So why does it so often stop feeling like a team? In this episode, I explore why the idea of 50/50 parenting might actually be setting us up for frustration. We talk about the difference between sharing tasks and sharing responsibility, why life can never be split perfectly...

Have you become the shouty mum you always said you'd never be? This week, I'm talking about something so many mums experience but so few feel able to admit: anger. I explore why mum rage is rarely just about the moment itself, what might be sitting underneath it, and how the realities of modern motherhood can leave us carrying more than any one person was ever meant to. I also talk about t...

Some children sleep. Some don't. Some children happily walk beside you. Others seem determined to test every boundary they can find. In this episode, I'm talking about something we don't say out loud very often: some children are simply harder to parent than others. Not because they're bad. Not because we'd swap them. And not because we love them any less. I'm exploring temperament, comparison, st...

Everyone seems to want a 90s mum summer right now. Less screens. More outside play. Slower days. Simpler memories. And honestly? I want that too. But it's not 1995 anymore. In this episode, I'm talking about nostalgia, technology, childhood memories, social media, summer pressure, and why modern mothers are trying to recreate the feeling of 90s childhoods inside a completely different world. Maybe...

We're sleeping. We're resting. We're trying to slow down. And yet so many of us are still exhausted. In this episode, I'm talking about the difference between being tired and being depleted, and why modern motherhood often gives us fragments of rest without the kind of recovery we actually need. From brain fog and burnout to the pressure to keep functioning through everything, we&#...

Raising a child between cultures is beautiful, but it’s also more emotional and complicated than people often realise. In this episode, Nat talks honestly about raising her mixed heritage son in Germany, the small cultural moments she never expected to grieve, and the pressure of trying to pass on language, traditions and identity when you live far from home. From nursery rhymes and bonfire night...

It has been a BIG week (or two), and sometimes you need to be given permission to take a break. 🫂 Join a loving community of mums in IT'S A LOT – free for 30 days. We talk about this kind of stuff in It's A Lot. So, if you’re feeling shaky having brought your new baby home, in the trenches of toddlerhood or just need a place to share the joys of being a mama with people who get it, this i...

Starting over after a breakup with kids isn’t just heartbreak. It’s boxes everywhere. Admin. Bills. Furniture. Childcare. Internet that still doesn’t work. Trying to build stability for your child while your entire life is being rebuilt around them. In this episode, I’m talking honestly about the practical and emotional reality of separating with children, moving into my new apartment, rebuilding...

Separation with kids changes your finances overnight. In this episode, we’re talking about money after a breakup, and what child maintenance actually covers, and what it doesn’t. Because this is where a lot of the confusion and conflict starts. We cover: what child maintenance is really for why it often doesn’t stretch as far as expected the hidden financial load many mums are already carrying why...

Breaking up is hard. Breaking up when you have children is something else entirely. Because you don’t just leave. You don’t get distance. And you don’t get the space most people rely on to actually process what’s happening. In this episode, I’m talking about the reality of separating when you have kids. The emotional weight, the practical reality, and the parts that nobody really prepares you for....

We spend months preparing for birth - the hospital bag, the antenatal classes, the birth plan. But almost no one prepares us for what comes after. Becoming a mother! In this episode, Nat explores the gap between preparing for a baby and actually becoming a mother, and why so many women feel caught off guard by how much changes. This is a conversation about motherhood as a transition, not a moment,...

This episode explores a moment many mums experience but rarely talk about, the realisation that in certain moments, you are completely on your own. After a chaotic IKEA run, Nat found herself overwhelmed, stuck, and unable to see a solution. What followed was a deeper recognition of something many mothers feel, the gap between having support and actually being able to access it. If you’ve ever tho...

Motherhood can feel overwhelming, even when nothing is “wrong”. In this episode, I talk about why motherhood can feel so hard, especially when you’re juggling sleep deprivation, financial pressure, relationship strain, and the mental load all at once. I share two personal moments where everything felt like too much, and what I realised looking back. This episode is for you if you’ve ever thought:...

Most of us expect that going back to work will make things easier, but for many mums, it doesn’t. Costs increase. Illness increases. The mental load expands. And suddenly, you’re holding a job, a household, and a child at the same time. In this episode, I’m unpacking why going back to work often feels harder than expected, and the structural tension behind it. Because the issue isn’t your ambition...

Living together after a breakup is one of the least talked about stages of separation. You’re not fully together. You’re not fully apart. And you’re not fully independent. From the outside, everything can look the same. Same house. Same routines. Same family structure. But internally, everything has shifted. In this episode, I’m naming what actually happens in that in-between space: The emotional...