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The Story

The Sunday Edition: Negative tales of motherhood nearly put me off having a baby

The Story

Dan box

Politics, Unknown, Daily News, News

41.5K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From bleak TV comedies to #mumtok meltdowns, modern motherhood is often portrayed as joyless, exhausting, and even traumatic. How did fear become the dominant narrative around parenting? And what gets lost in the process?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory


Guest: Alexandra Jones, writer, The Times.


Host: Taryn Siegel.


Producers: Aaliyah Ahmed and Taryn Siegel.


Further reading:


Clips: Netflix/Motherland, Parliament TV.

 

Photo: Courtesy of Alexandra Jones.


Get in touch: [email protected]..


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Fancy a fever tree and vodka.

0:03.8

Yes, vodka, not gin.

0:06.7

Because this is fever tree Mexican lime soda.

0:10.0

Yes, soda, not tonic.

0:13.0

With Mexican lime and Japanese yuzu for a zesty, refreshing lime soda that's just sweet enough.

0:19.6

Delicious with vodka or on its own. Fever tree, Mexican lime soda that's just sweet enough. Delicious with vodka or on its own.

0:23.1

Fever tree Mexican lime soda mix with the best.

0:27.7

Mmm, now that hits the spot.

0:33.8

From the Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story.

0:37.5

I'm Terrence Siegel.

0:47.3

So I found out I was pregnant in a sort of cafe toilets, I think fairly common for most people.

0:55.2

They find out in some really random places.

0:57.6

And it was, I was obviously very happy, but I was also filled with this very intense feeling

1:05.8

of, I want to say dread, mixed with fear, mixed with, you know, with fear of the unknown, all the rest of it.

1:13.2

But overwhelmingly, I was like, oh God, what have I done?

1:21.6

And I remember sort of calling my mum and just being like,

1:27.3

she was like, how do you feel? Are you happy? And I was like, I am,

1:30.6

but I'm also, I feel I'm too young. I've got so much life left to live. And I mean, she was like,

1:39.2

you're not dying. You're just pregnant.

1:49.9

We're told so many stories about motherhood before we ever get there.

1:55.3

Stories about exhaustion, about giving things up, about losing yourself.

2:02.9

Sometimes those stories come from books or films, sometimes from friends who want to prepare you or scare you.

...

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