This week, award-winning BBC broadcaster, journalist and author Emma Barnett joins us to challenge everything we think we know about the newborn bubble. Emma's new book, Maternity Service, tears through the toxic positivity of early motherhood with refreshing - and often hilarious - honesty.

From the physical reality of recovering from a C-section to the quiet grief of losing your pre-baby identity, Emma holds nothing back. She also opens up about 21 years without an endometriosis diagnosis, six rounds of IVF, and how she's learned to survive - and thrive - with a chronic pain condition while raising two children and fronting some of the UK's biggest radio programmes.

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Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction: Why Maternity Leave Is a Lie

01:01 What Is Maternity Service? The Book Explained

01:31 Six Rounds of IVF and 21 Years Without a Diagnosis

02:01 Matrescence: How Your Identity Shifts When You Become a Mother

04:10 Can You Ever Really Prepare for Becoming a Mother?

05:03 Toxic Positivity in Motherhood

06:30 Reframing Motherhood as a Tour of Duty

07:35 The Physical Reality: Healing a Broken Body After Birth

08:57 C-Sections, Too Posh to Push, and the Stigma of Stomach Surgery

09:50 What Is a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor? What No One Tells You

11:25 The Loneliness of New Motherhood Nobody Talks About

12:22 Identity Loss: Your Maternity Uniform and the Flattening of Self

14:01 IVF, Bruising, and the Hidden Uniform of Fertility Treatment

16:29 Delayed Gratification: The Survival Skill Every Mother Needs

18:20 Perimenopause, Grief, and the Pressure to Have It All

21:23 Maternity Discrimination and the Psychology of Being Replaced

23:30 Is Boredom on Maternity Leave Normal? Yes, and Here's Why

24:40 Writing a Letter to Your Pre-Baby Self

26:35 Ready to Talk: Emma's New BBC Podcast on Women's Interior Lives

30:50 The Best Books on Motherhood Emma Recommends

39:00 Living With Endometriosis: The Diagnosis That Took 21 Years

42:20 Endometriosis and IVF: When Getting Pregnant Becomes a Crisis

49:30 Emma's Tip for Feeling Well Enough: The Power of Music

Episodes of Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett are available every Friday on BBC Sounds.

Buy Emma’s book Maternity Service - out in paperback March 12th

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