The Feral Mammy Podcast

Sleep is one of the biggest sources of anxiety for new parents – and one of the most misunderstood parts of early parenting.In this episode of the Feral Mammy Podcast, Aoife Lennon talks to Majella Mordaunt, founder of Tiny Tummies and Little Dreamers, IBCLC and infant holistic sleep coach, about what normal infant sleep really looks like.They discuss the role of co-regulation between parent and baby, the natural connection between breastfeeding and sleep, and the myths that often leave parents feeling guilty or like they’re doing something wrong.Majella also shares realistic ways to support better sleep while acknowledging the very real exhaustion many families experience in the early months.An honest, reassuring conversation for tired parents everywhere.

Trying to conceive is often spoken about in practical terms – ovulation, timing, tests – but the emotional side can be the hardest part of the journey.In this episode of the Feral Mammy Podcast, Aoife Lennon is joined by fertility coach Finola McConville to talk honestly about the emotional challenges that can come with trying to conceive. Together they explore the weight of hope, the pressure of expectations, and how difficult it can be to hold onto yourself when every month feels like a cycle of anticipation and disappointment.Finola shares compassionate, practical advice for people who are currently trying to conceive – including ways to navigate uncertainty, protect your emotional wellbeing, and find steadiness in a process that can feel anything but predictable.This is a conversation for anyone who is in the middle of the waiting, the wondering, and the hoping.You are not alone in it.

In this episode of Feral Mammy, I sit down with Mary Maguire from Solas — psychotherapist and researcher working with NUI Maynooth — to talk about the gaps in Ireland’s perinatal mental health system that too many women fall straight through.We’re told to watch for postnatal depression. We’re told to ask for help. We’re told support is there.And yet, women wait ten months. A year. Finally get assessed. And are told they’re not sick enough.Meanwhile, over 40% of women experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress after birth. Not a small minority. Not a fringe group. Nearly half.So what happens to the woman who is replaying her birth at 3am but can still load the dishwasher? The mother who is functioning but not flourishing? The one who doesn’t meet the threshold for specialist care but is quietly drowning?We talk about matrescence — the seismic identity shift of becoming a mother — and how often it’s pathologised instead of supported. We talk about trauma that doesn’t “count.” We talk about systems that are crisis-driven rather than prevention-focused. And we ask the uncomfortable question: who exactly is perinatal mental health care designed for?Mary shares insights from her clinical work at Solas and her research with NUI Maynooth exploring how systems could better support parents’ mental and emotional wellbeing in the perinatal period — not just when they are at breaking point, but long before.This is a conversation about thresholds, gatekeeping, and the myth that if you’re coping, you’re fine.It’s also about self-compassion. Because when the system measures severity, mothers measure themselves against impossible standards. And that’s a heavy load to carry alone.If you’ve ever been told you’re “doing great” when you feel anything but, this one is for you.

Strong as a Mother (But Louder) is the debut episode of The Feral Mammy — and we are starting exactly where we mean to continue.Aoife is joined by Edel Woods from Bump Buddies and Beyond for a bold conversation about strength in pregnancy and postpartum.Together they dismantle bounce-back culture, challenge fear-based advice around movement, and explore what it really means to train, recover and take up space in the perinatal period. This episode is about redefining strength — not as aesthetics, but as capacity. Not as shrinking, but as expansion.Motherhood isn’t a weakness to fix.It’s power to build.This one is for the women ready to feel strong — and say it louder.

In this second teaser for the Feral Mammy, Aoife introduces herself — mammy, IBCLC, birth worker, and woman who learned the hard way that the system doesn’t always serve us.She shares the experience that lit the fire, why this podcast had to exist, and what “feral” really means in the context of modern motherhood. Expect honesty, evidence, a little righteous rage, and a refusal to sugar-coat the seismic shift that is matrescence.This is the space where science meets instinct, where we question the narrative, and where mothers are trusted as the experts of their own bodies and babies.If you’ve ever thought, “surely it’s not just me?” — it’s not.Welcome in.

The teaser for Feral Mammy has landed — and this season is not here to play nice.We’re talking real sleep (without the shame), birth power and informed consent, matrescence and mental health, fertility and nourishment — the conversations that actually matter when you’re becoming a mother.Expect evidence. Expect empathy. Expect the odd swear word.No fluff. No patronising. No pretending it’s all grand.If you’re pregnant, postpartum, trying to conceive, or knee-deep in the chaos of modern motherhood — this is your space.Feral Mammy is coming.Cold tea optional. Fire in your belly required.