Afleveringen
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Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, I'm Aisling Keenan, your host. Today's episode surprised me. It's not often that happens, but when I first invited today's guest, Laura O'Connell, to join me, I wanted to talk to her about her genuinely hilarious and sometimes triggering midwife comedy sketches. I wanted to unpick with her the reactions and why she made them. Instead, we got into one of the most soul-baring and deep discussions about the realities of motherhood and its place (and struggle to find its place) in this patriarchal society we live in. We talk about how the major side effect of those brilliant reels was that Laura got angry – angry at the lack of support and lack of awareness around postnatal mental health. We get into the weeds about everything from guilt and the relentlessness of parenting (as laura puts it, there is no rip cord you can pull) and why conversations like the ones that come up in the comment sections of her viral reels are so important. This was a cathartic episode for me in all honesty, and you will be hearing from Laura again because I feel we have so much more to get through. Here's this week's episode, I'll be back to you next week with more.
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Welcome back to everymum the podcast, with me Aisling Keenan. Today we are talking about one of the biggest identity shifts a person can go through and one we still don’t talk about nearly enough. Motherhood isn’t just a physical transition; it’s emotional, psychological, social. There’s a word for that transformation and that is matrescence. It's not something I was very familiar with until really recently, but my guest today studies it and is pretty much an expert now. Returning for more chats, Claire Moore is a mother of two, Irish but living in Hong Kong, and is a facilitator for an amazing organisation called Bump and Co. With Bump and Co, they know how unsupported, misunderstood, and invisible many women can feel during their post-partum period and beyond, and they bring a peer-to-peer support together to help new mothers through their experiences. In this conversation, we talk about the genuine gap in the care for new mothers, not just commercially, but emotionally. We also get into the bigger cultural conversation around motherhood: why society still struggles to acknowledge how destabilising and transformative it can be, the pressure to appear like you’re coping, and the tension between the beauty of becoming a mother and the grief of losing parts of your old self. We also discuss whether modern motherhood has become overly optimised and commercialised, and what support for mothers should actually look like in real life, beyond Instagram slogans and vague ideas about “self care.” And if you’re listening as someone currently in the thick of matrescence, feeling overwhelmed or unlike yourself, there’s a really important message in this episode for you too. Here’s my conversation with Claire, and I'll be back next week with more.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, I'm your host Aisling Keenan. Today’s guest is the brilliant Dr Laura Lenihan — GP, working parent of three girls and someone who speaks with rare honesty about the realities of modern motherhood. This conversation goes far beyond perfect parenting or tidy Instagram advice. We talked about Dr Laura’s own HRT journey and how hormonal changes can affect patience, relationships and the way we experience motherhood itself. We also got into the relentless balancing act of trying to build a career while raising children and the impossible standards many women feel they’re failing to meet every single day. We spoke honestly about maternal guilt, the mental load, and that feeling so many mothers carry that no matter how much they do, it somehow never feels enough. And we discussed the uncomfortable truth that the bar for fathers is often dramatically lower: how men are praised for participation while women are expected to carry the invisible management of family life almost by default. It’s a conversation about work, identity, exhaustion, resentment, love, ambition, and the emotional complexity of trying to be everything to everyone. But it’s also validating, and incredibly reassuring. Whether you’re a parent, thinking about parenthood, or simply trying to survive modern life without burning out, I think you’ll get a lot from this one. Here’s my conversation with Dr Laura Lenihan.
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Hi there and welcome back to Everymum the podcast. I'm Aisling Keenan, your host. Today’s guest is the fabulous Jennifer Wrynne. Jennifer, many of you will know, is a milliner, online influencer and mum of four, who in the past year or so has been sharing a deeply personal and life-changing experience very publicly: her breast cancer diagnosis. In this episode, we talk about that moment: how she found out, what followed, and the reality of navigating treatment while life kept moving around her. Jennifer speaks with incredible honesty about the fear, the uncertainty, and also the resilience she found in herself during that time. We also talk about her decision to share so much of her journey online, why she chose to be open, what that gave her, and how it’s helped other women, particularly when it comes to awareness around checking your breasts and paying attention to your body. This isn’t a story wrapped up in neat positivity. It’s about the complicated middle: the days that are hard, the mindset shifts that don’t come easily, and the ways people find strength when they don’t really have another option. Jennifer’s perspective is generous, grounded and incredibly impactful and I'm so grateful to her for sharing it with me and you, the listeners. Here's the episode, and I'll be back next week with more.
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Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, I'm Aisling Keenan your host, and today’s guest is someone whose story speaks to so many modern realities around motherhood, family, and the choices women are making when life doesn’t follow the 'typical' path. Siobhan O’Hagan who you might know from her life online which began years back when she became a fitness influencer, is now a mum of one, working with an online community of women who want to live healtheir, and she has recently made the deeply personal decision to become a single mother by choice. Not because she gave up on finding a partner, but because she knew she wanted to grow her family and didn’t want to put that dream on hold in the meantime. I LOVE following Siobhan online and particularly love how she's approached this whole journey with complete upfront honesty. In this episode, we talk about what led her to make her decision around expanding her family, the fears that came with it, and the practical realities of pursuing fertility treatment on her own. Siobhan opens up about the IVF process itself, and what it means to embrace the label SMBC, and if she feels she identifies with it. We also get into the assumptions people make about what a family is supposed to look like, the reactions she’s had from others, and how she talks to her daughter about the journey of bringing a sibling into the world this way. But what makes this conversation so powerful is that it isn’t just about fertility treatment or solo parenting. It’s about agency. It’s about making a brave decision for your life, even when it falls outside the traditional narrative. Whether this path is something you’ve considered yourself, or whether you’re simply interested in the many ways families are made today, Siobhan’s honesty, warmth, and clarity make this a fascinating and deeply moving conversation. Here’s my chat with Siobhan, I'll be back next week with more.
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Becoming a parent is often described as life-changing, and of course it is. But one of the shifts we don’t talk about enough is what happens to our friendships along the way. Today’s guest, Louise Cody, is an online influencer who’s been refreshingly honest about how having a baby reshaped not just her daily life, but the people in it. In this conversation, we get into the moments that don’t always make it into the highlight reel: the unanswered messages, the group chats that go quiet, the friendships that deepen, and the ones that quietly drift. Louise speaks candidly about the emotional and logistical realities of staying connected when your world suddenly revolves around a tiny person. We talk about identity, guilt, resentment, and the sometimes uncomfortable truth that not all friendships survive the transition and that maybe that’s not a failure. We also touch on something even more important: Louise’s experience with postnatal depression, and how that shaped not only how she showed up in her friendships, but what she needed from them. This episode is honest, nuanced and even a little bit confronting. But if you’ve ever felt like your relationships shifted in ways you didn’t expect after a big life change, or if you’re trying to understand someone who has, tthere’s a lot in here that will resonate. Here’s my conversation with Louise Cody, and I'll be back next week with more.
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Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, with me Aisling Keenan. If you’re a parent right now, chances are your child is spending at least some part of their day online, whether that's gaming, chatting with friends, watching videos. It’s just become part of modern childhood. But how much do we actually know about what children are doing online, and how protected they really are? New research from CyberSafeKids, which surveyed more than 3,300 primary school children and 1,700 parents across Ireland, suggests there’s a pretty significant gap between how parents think children are using the internet, and what’s actually happening. More than half of children aged 8 to 12 say they have no parental restrictions when it comes to online contact meaning they can chat or game with people they don’t know. Only about 4 in 10 say their parents can monitor what they do online. And despite age limits on most social media platforms, nearly 70 percent of children in that age group already have at least one account. At the same time, many parents say they feel overwhelmed by the speed of change. I know I do. A quarter say they simply don’t understand the apps or games their children are using, and nearly half admit the rules they set around screen time or online activity aren’t always enforced. So how worried should parents actually be? What are the real risks children face online today particularly with the rise of AI tools and deepfakes, and just as importantly, what are the practical things families can do to keep children safe without turning the internet into a battleground at home? To talk about all of that and more, I’m joined by Alex Cooney, CEO of CyberSafeKids, Ireland’s national voice for children’s online safety and digital rights. This is essential listening for any parent with a device in their home, be it an ipad, a phone, a smartwatch or even just a wifi connection. I'll be back next week with more.
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Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, I'm Aisling Keenan. When you imagine what parenting will look like, you tend to picture something linear: milestones ticked off, routines falling into place, a general sense that even when things are hard, they’re at least a bit predictable. But for many parents, that couldn’t be further from the reality. Today’s conversation is about what happens when the script you thought you were following no longer applies and how you find your footing when you’re navigating something far more complex, and far less understood. I’m joined by my lovely friend Caroline Foran, author and journalist, who’s here to talk about her experience parenting her son, and the journey to understanding his autism and PDA profile. PDA stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance, a term that, for many, is still unfamiliar, and often misunderstood. In this episode, Caroline shares the long and sometimes frustrating process of seeking answers, and how a diagnosis can bring both clarity and a whole new set of questions. We talk about the emotional reality behind the labels: the guilt, the doubt, the advocacy, and the constant recalibration that comes with parenting a neurodivergent child. We also get into what PDA actually means in day-to-day life, why traditional parenting strategies often don’t work, and how shifting your approach can transform not just your child’s experience, but your relationship with them too. This is a conversation about letting go of expectations, learning to see your child for who they are, and finding a different kind of confidence as a parent, one that’s built not on control, but on understanding. Here’s Caroline, and I'll be back next week with more
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Today’s guest is Dr Abigail Moore, a specialist children’s dentist and the founder of Happy Teeth, where she works exclusively with babies, children and teens to make dental care calmer, kinder, and far less scary for everyone involved (including nervous mams and dads!) She has years of experience helping anxious kids and overwhelmed parents with very big feelings about being in the dentist’s chair. In this episode, we’re answering the questions parents actually lie awake worrying about: when to bring your child to the dentist for the first time, how much toothpaste is too much toothpaste, whether baby teeth really matter, and why some kids seem to get cavities no matter what you do. We talk fluoride, sugar, night feeds, thumb-sucking, tooth grinding, and what to do when a child flat-out refuses to open their mouth.If you’ve ever felt confused, guilty, or slightly panicked about your child’s teeth, this episode is for you.
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Welcome back to Season 19 of Everymum, the podcast – I'm your host, Aisling Keenan and today’s episode is a deeply honest conversation about a subject that many families experience, but far fewer feel able to talk about openly: pregnancy loss. My guest is radio presenter Suzanne Kane, whose voice many people will recognise from the airwaves: She is warm, funny, and full of life. But in this conversation, Suzanne shares a much more personal side of her story, and actually through talking to her about it, it helped me feel better about my recent losses too. Together we chat about the emotional reality of pregnancy loss: the shock, the grief, the strange loneliness that can follow, and the complicated ways it can shape how you experience motherhood afterwards. Suzanne speaks with remarkable openness about what those moments were like for her. We talk about how experiences like this can change you as a parent and as a person, but this isn’t only a conversation about grief. It’s also about the realities of parenting and identity, about how motherhood changes you, the pressure many parents feel to get everything right, and the moments that remind you you’re not alone in the mess of it all. Suzanne brings honesty, humour and real vulnerability to this conversation, and I’m so grateful she was willing to share her story. Here’s my conversation with Suzanne Kane, enjoy it and I'll be back next week (and all season long!) with more.
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Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, I'm Aisling Keenan. My guest this week is the wonderful and always lovely Jen Carroll, who many of you will know as her online persona, Jen's Journey. Jen has lived more life than most of us and she's only in her 30s. She's gone from deeply unhappy and having no self-esteem in a difficult relationship, to being a happy, confident homeowner and mother of one, who is inspiring people every day on her social channels. We go through Jen's full journey in this episode, from having her son in London, changing her life and documenting it all online, coming back to Ireland and having a ten year old now who lights up her life. Her story is so inspiring and she's just one of the most authentic people you could ever meet which I know is why so many people love following her online. This is an episode that would give anyone they hope they need to get through adversity and come out the other side to a much happier, safer and more fulfilled life. This is our last episode for season 18, what a great one to finish on! After a few weeks break we'll be back again with season 19 with even more brilliant guests, so join us then and a huge huge thank you for listening, as always.
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Welcome back to another episode of Everymum the podcast with me, Aisling Keenan. This week's episode is slightly different from our norm in the sense that we're covering a topic, a very important one, rather than discussing a guest's experience. The topic in question is that of religion as it relates to the education system, which can be at times divisive but should be discussed nevertheless. chatting to me about it is the lovely Laura Cunningham, who is always so up to date and informed about the topic, and always keeps up with the work of Education Equality Ireland, who do a lot in terms of informing and educating people on the issue. It's crunch time for me with this because Lydia is due to start school this coming September, and because we're not particularly religious (which is a roundabout way of saying we're not religious at all!) I'm facing a few years ahead of tricky questions and decisions about how best to see her through life in our local national school, where religion is still to the fore. Although Laura and I very much agree personally on the issue, it's important to say that having strong religious belief of any kind is incredibly important and valuable to so many people, and we very much agree that practicing whatever religion you choose should be encouraged and supported. We also chat about the primary schools survey which over 168,000 parents and educators responded to which asks various questions about the type of schooling children should receive. It went out to parents of school-age children and talks about co-ed or single sex school, religious patronage and which language parents would prefer their child to learn through. As I said, this topic can be decisive but it's important to have open discussion about it, so I hope you enjoy listening and I'll be back next week with more.
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Welcome back to Everymum the podcast with me, Aisling Keenan. My guest this week is Michelle Flynn, a psychotherapist who specialises in perinatal mental health. We talk on today’s episode about birth trauma: something many parents will recognise, but not as many feel truly 'allowed' to claim. For some, birth just doesn't go to plan, it leaves a lasting imprint that shows up in the body, in confidence, in relationships and in the day-to-day experience of parenting. And that can be so confusing, especially when you’re told you should feel grateful because your baby is healthy. In this conversation, Michelle and I unpack what birth trauma actually is, and why it isn’t defined by how dramatic, dangerous or “successful” a birth appeared from the outside. We talk about how feeling unheard, rushed, powerless or unsafe can be traumatic in itself, and how those experiences can linger months or even years later. We also explore the impact on bonding with your baby, on partners and non-birthing parents and on future pregnancies, as well as the shame and silence that often surround these experiences. Most importantly, we talk about healing: what helps, what doesn’t, and how support can look different for different people. If you’ve ever questioned whether your experience counts, or wondered why it’s still affecting you, this episode is for you. Back soon with more.
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Welcome back everyone, I'm your host Aisling Keenan and you're listening to Everymum the podcast. We're deep into season 18 now which is wild. This episode was a treat for me to record because the guest is a good friend of mine, the lovely Pamela Laird came on to chat to me about how she's finding motherhood so far with her three month old daughter. One of the things we chat about is how Pam has managed to stay feeling like 'herself' through pregnancy and motherhood, and while obviously things are really different from pre-baby, she says she still feels like who she always was. That really struck me as unique, because I know I didn't feel that way and so many mothers I know don't, so it was really refreshing to hear. I loved hearing a really positive parenting story too, because so often we find issues and I know I can focus on the negatives too sometimes. Enjoy this episode, enjoy hearing Pam's daughter's super gorgeous and very unique name, and I'll be back soon with more.
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Welcome back to another episode of Everymum the podcast, with me Aisling Keenan. I absolutely LOVE my guest this week, and I was somewhat self-conscious to be interviewing her because she's such a great podcast host herself. Laura Dowling, otherwise known as The Fabulous Pharmacist, has so many strings to her bow, she's an author, a podcaster like I mentioned and travels the country with her shows, teaching the women (and men!) of Ireland about vulvas, among other things, bringing fun and lightheartedness into topics that otherwise might feel taboo to openly chat about. What I was so interested to chat to her about, aside from her crusade to help women know and love their bodies, is her life as a mother of three teenage boys. She talks about trying to keep them fed, leaving them alone when they're killing each other, and hoping that they'll grow up to be good friends, partners and fathers. We talk about why 'dad guilt' doesn't seem to be a thing, even though women are wracked with guilt constantly, and how the most important thing to her is that her sons know they can always come to her with anything they need. It's hard not to be entertained by Laura, so I know this episode will entertain AND inform, and hopefully make you laugh too. Thanks so much for listening as always.
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Welcome back to another episode of Everymum the podcast, with me Aisling Keenan. My guest this episode is Deirdre O'Shaughnessy, a journalist and mother of three whose story of parenthood so far left me breathless. I'd always known Deirdre professionally, as we orbited each other on Twitter for years, and always admired her work, but now that I have heard the story of the last nine years of her life I am TRULY in awe. From the births of her three sons, to renovating a house, taking in a family from Ukraine, navigating a full time and high demand job and then grieving after losing both of her parents, the amount of times in this episode that I said "oh my god" must be some kind of record for broadcasting. Deirdre is known for her work, but her personal story is absolutely captivating too and left me genuinely wondering at the end – has this woman slept at all in the past decade? I'll say no more on this one, apart from to say her first child was born – from first twinge to being delivered - in under three hours. You'll have to listen to believe it. Enjoy this episode, and I'll speak to you all again next week.
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Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode of Everymum the podcast, I'm Aisling Keenan and my guest this week is beauty entrepreneur, owner of beauty brand Hildun and mother of three, Suzy Griffin Dunne. This episode was basically me trying to find out what makes Suzy tick, how she manages having three small children and a beauty business, and how she manages to stay so present in both her work life and her parenting life – as it turns out, Suzy is unflappable. She's moving through it all with a laid back confidence that I am, quite frankly, very jealous of. She says while she's working, she's in work mode and while she's with her kids, who are 4, 5 and 7, she tries to be as present as possible. When she does try to open her laptop and work after hours, she says it's slammed shut for her. Which I can relate to! This chat will reassure any parents listening that we ALL compare ourselves to other parents, but that we're all winning and failing in our own unique ways, and just because your neighbour's child is doing grad 8 on the clarinet by their 4th birthday doesn't mean you're a terrible parent because your child won't even sit at the table to eat their dinner. I promise. Enjoy this lovely episode, and I'll be back next week.
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Welcome back to Everymum the podcast, I'm Aisling Keenan, your host, and my guest this week is a returning guest, the lovely Kelly Donegan. Many of you will know her from her Tallafornia past, but that's very far in the rearview for Kelly now. And as we chat today, her 12 week old son Jesse makes his little voice known, so if you hear some baby gurgles, I promise it's not me OR Kelly. Kelly joined me a second time for very good reason – I was dying to chat to her about her VBAC, or vaginal birth after caesarean, which she spoke about online at the time of Jesse's birth. Her first delivery on her daughter Cherry was so traumatic for her that when we spoke the first time she was sad, tired, angry, emotional, the full gamut of feelings. This time, well. She didn't stop smiling for the entire recording, even when talking about the 10 out of 10 contraction pain she was feeling during delivery. Motherhood changes us all, but motherhood seems to have changed Kelly twice – and I just find it absolutely fascinating how different her two birth experiences were. I know you'll enjoy this episode, I loved recording it as I just LOVE a happy birth story. Back next week with more chats.
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This week on the podcast, my guest is Heather Condren, founder of Flowerpop, a brilliant, creative and unique flower business based in Dublin (and delivering everywhere). Heather and I cover a lot of ground: what it’s like to start a business with a tiny baby, the realities of parenting while running your own company, and the constant juggle of entrepreneurial life. But one of the most fascinating parts of our chat was Heather’s experience working with both a pregnancy doula and a postpartum doula. She speaks so passionately about the incredible support doulas provide, what they actually do, how their roles differ, and why that kind of care can be life-changing. Our conversation also opened up into the bigger picture: how much support for new mothers has disappeared, and how isolating it can feel without the “village” previous generations could rely on. Heather is inspiring as a mother, a founder, and a person who is willing to share her journey so honestly. I think you’ll find this episode as thought-provoking as it is encouraging. Thanks so much for listening and I'll be back next week with more.
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Welcome back to Season 18 of Everymum, the podcast, the place for people who love their kids deeply but also occasionally fantasize about running away to a quiet hotel room with room service and no one saying “Maaaam” for three to five business days. Today’s guests are two women who understand that impulse all too well, and have somehow turned it into content: Rebecca and Fiona Ryan. They’re Irish sisters, actors, and online creators who grew up just outside Meath, trained together at the Gaiety School of Acting, and have spent most of their adult lives toggling between their passion for acting, and both are now mothers of two. Rebecca is best known for her hilarious and painfully relatable videos on motherhood and modern life — the kind that make you laugh and then wince at how real it is, and then send to your group chat. Fiona, meanwhile, spent years acting and producing in London before returning home, where together, they’ve created Motherhustle. It's a new mini-series about the grind of parenting. It’s funny, sharp, and occasionally too on the nose for comfort. What I love about these two is that they’re not just making jokes about motherhood — they’re exploring how to stay ambitious when someone around you always has sticky hands and needs another snack. How do you make art out of chaos without losing your mind or your sense of humour? We get into all of that in this episode: the creative process, the sister dynamic, the limits of sharing online, and what the future holds for them and their families. So, make yourself a coffee or something stronger, depending on the hour and join us as we talk about turning the mess of modern motherhood into something you can actually laugh about. I;ll be back next week with more.
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