#317 | TAKE THE MIC | POST-DIAGNOSIS MOTHERHOOD | WITH KRISTEN KILLORAN

Welcome back to The Happy Mama Movement Podcast.

In this Take the Mic episode, I’m honoured to share the voice of Kirsten Calloran — a Mama Rising coach and lactation consultant from County Wicklow, Ireland — whose story reaches straight into the heart of motherhood’s deepest transformations. Kirsten invites us into her journey through post-diagnosis motherhood — the moment her son’s autism diagnosis opened a second matrescence, a new becoming that reshaped everything she thought she knew about identity, strength, and love.This is a story of grief and grace, of survival and softening. Of finding language for what once felt unspeakable. It’s an offering to every mother who’s ever wondered where she went — and to those slowly remembering themselves, one tender breath at a time.

She talks about:

• How a child’s diagnosis can awaken a second transformation in motherhood.
• The invisible weight and isolation many caregiving mothers carry.
• Grief, rage, love, and identity — all existing side by side.
• The need for spaces that hold mothers, not just their children.
• The hope that rises when we begin to honour our own becoming.

May this conversation remind you: you are not broken, you are becoming — again and again, in ways that matter more than you know.

ABOUT KIRSTEN

Kirsten Calloran is a matrescence coach based in Ireland, specialising in post-diagnosis support for mothers (and fathers) of neurodivergent and disabled children.

She combines lived experience with professional training to help parents navigate what she calls “post-diagnosis matrescence” — the profound identity shift that begins when the life you imagined for yourself and your child suddenly changes.

Through her 1:1 coaching, talks for families in disability services, podcast Fi(ND)ing Motherhood, and compassionate social media presence, Kirsten offers validation, emotional grounding, and practical support to women often left behind by traditional parenting narratives.

Her work centres on the belief that when we nurture mothers, we strengthen families — and that no woman should have to lose herself to love her child well.

Kirsten lives in Wicklow with her husband, daughter, and young son, whose diagnosis marked the beginning of her own second becoming.

Connect with Kirsten:

Website: www.finding-motherhood.com

Podcast: Fi(ND)ing Motherhood on Spotify

TikTok: @findingmotherhoodcoach

Instagram: @findingmotherhoodcoach

Facebook: facebook.com/FindingMotherhoodCoach

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