Emma Barnett on motherhood, IVF and endometriosis

2026-03-11

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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...

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