Welcome back to the Regretful Parents series. This episode tackles what motherhood does to women’s bodies, mental health, and sense of self.<br /><br />Erika and Kristen read a post from the Regretful Parents subreddit titled “Never Felt as Ugly as I Do Now as a Mom.”<br /><br />A woman reflects on how pregnancy, postpartum life, chronic sleep deprivation, stress, and mental load have aged her physically and emotionally — and how devastating it feels to no longer recognize herself in the mirror. From "saggy apron bellies to lifeless eyes", celebrity “bounce-back” culture, Botox discourse, and why men somehow escape all of this entirely, the conversation spirals (as it should) into a full-blown rant about how cruel, unfair, and deeply misogynistic the expectations placed on mothers really are.<br /><br />Topics include:<br />Postpartum body changes no one warns you about<br />Why stress and sleep deprivation visibly age womenThe lie of “bouncing back” after pregnancy<br />Celebrity beauty standards are fully rage-inducing<br />Why motherhood drains women and barely touches men<br />And the eternal question: why do we keep doing this to ourselves?<br /><br />Support us on patreon.com/dinkypod so we can kill ads forever<br />Find childfree friends, connect with other fence-sitters, and join our next trip at<a href="https://dinkypod.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> dinkypod.com</a>.<br />And as always: don’t get pregnant.<br /><br />Become a supporter of this podcast: <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/dinky--5953015/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss">https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/dinky--5953015/support</a>.