The Unknowns of Motherhood

What happened in this episode?

In a solo episode, Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper reflects on her first pregnancy and the anxieties she says many women feel but may avoid voicing publicly. Cooper describes a fear of “losing” one’s pre-pregnancy identity—mourning independence while also feeling excitement about becoming a parent—and argues that social expectations often leave little room for emotional nuance.

Cooper introduces the term “matrescence” to describe the psychological transition into motherhood, and says (without citing a specific paper) that neuroscience research indicates pregnancy and childbirth can involve unusually rapid brain restructuring. She distinguishes ordinary negative feelings from prenatal or postpartum depression, encouraging openness about both.

She also speaks about physical changes and discomfort during pregnancy, including rib-cage pain she says she has checked with her doctor, and describes hiring a doula and revising her thinking on a birth plan as she becomes more informed about labour and medical options. Cooper criticises “bounceback culture” online and says many women feel pressured into expressing only gratitude.

On social behaviour, she objects to people asking to touch pregnant women’s stomachs, framing it as part of a broader pattern of entitlement over women’s bodies. She also says her school sex education left her unprepared for basic childbirth information, contributing to fear during pregnancy.

Across the episode, Cooper’s central message is that ambivalence—being excited and scared at the same time—should be treated as normal rather than shameful.

What are the key points?

• Cooper says women can feel joy about a baby while mourning lost independence, and should not be shamed for ambivalence.
• She introduces “matrescence” as a framework for the transition into motherhood and argues pregnant women are judged too harshly.
• Cooper says pregnancy-related brain changes are profound, and that women are given insufficient grace for psychological upheaval.
• She describes significant physical discomfort in pregnancy, including rib-cage pain, and says she has consulted her doctor.
• Cooper says she hired a doula and that learning more about labour has changed her thinking about a birth plan.
• She asks people to stop requesting to touch pregnant women’s stomachs without consent.
• Cooper says her Catholic-school sex education did not prepare her for childbirth and reproductive-health realities.

Who is speaking?

Named speakers identified in Egleze's source-linked moments from this episode.

• Alex Cooper

Which topics are covered?

How is this page sourced?

Programme

Call Her Daddy

Published

7 October 2026

Duration

47m

Original episode

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