Do Not Disturb: The Inside Story
Sasha Vara on The Brutal Reality Nobody Talks About Motherhood
Motherhood, expectation and the truths that are still difficult to say aloud.
In this episode
Simona Deifta speaks with Sasha Vara in this filmed long-form episode of Do Not Disturb: The Inside Story. The conversation explores motherhood, expectation and the truths that are still difficult to say aloud.
Themes in this conversation
- The harder truths of motherhood
- Expectation versus lived reality
- Why honest maternal stories matter
Related conversations
Do Not Disturb · A podcast about motherhood
Sasha Vara:
Success does not cancel postpartum anxiety
A successful career and a healthy baby do not tell you how a mother feels. Sasha on postpartum anxiety and getting to know herself again.
The Do Not Disturb edit
Three things to take with you.
Three ideas from the conversation, in our words.
Do
Give yourself time to get to know who you are after having a baby.
Not
Rush to recover a previous version of yourself that no longer fits.
Disturb
The idea that a healthy baby means a new mother must feel happy.
What if the mother is not feeling happy?
Sasha and Simona discuss expectations after birth and the pressure to return quickly to a familiar version of yourself. Sasha talks about postpartum anxiety and the adjustment to becoming a mother.
The conversation gives space to feelings that can be hard to admit when other people assume you have every reason to be happy.
What comes up
- Postpartum anxiety
- Identity after having a baby
- The pressure to feel grateful and happy
Keep the conversation going
Mimi Ikonn ↗
For the identity questions that accompany a major life change.
Laura McGrath ↗
For the practical support women need through major personal change.
More from Simona: get Simona’s Cultural Edit on Mondays →