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Ever wondered what really goes on behind the Instagram-perfect scenes of modern motherhood? In this episode, we’re joined by Ellie Rineck—mom of two, host of A Day in Her Life podcast who is unapologetically real about the highs and lows of parenting.
When she’s not recording conversations with women across all walks of life, Ellie works as a project manager and implementation lead in AI healthcare tech.

She joins us to talk about high-risk pregnancies and hormone chaos to postpartum recovery and the pressures of breastfeeding.

Plus, we dig into the mental load, unexpected waves of partner guilt, and why outsourcing might just be your secret to survival. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by motherhood or questioned if you're doing enough, this episode is the supportive, unfiltered talk you didn’t know you needed. Ellie also shares her insights from 100+ interviews with women on how they actually manage their chaotic, beautiful lives.

🔗 Links & Resources:

Ellie's Podcast: A Day in Her Life

Pepper Books (Spicy Romance Subscription): shoppepperbooks.com

Follow Ellie on Instagram: @adayinherlifepod

Ready to outsource? Remember to use Peacock Parents code

💬 Closing Thought
If this episode resonated with you, take a moment to rate and review the podcast, follow for more real talk, and share it with a fellow mom who needs to hear she’s not alone. Your support helps more women find this space for unfiltered, honest parenting convos. 💛

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

Send us a text

In this deeply moving and empowering episode, we're joined by Dr. Jessica Zucker, the trailblazing psychologist and author behind the “I Had a Miscarriage” movement. Jessica shares the deeply personal story that reshaped her career and advocacy: experiencing a miscarriage at 16 weeks, alone at home, and the aftermath that followed. What began as a clinical interest became an urgent call to action as she confronted the silence, stigma, and shame surrounding pregnancy loss.

Together, we dive into the evolution of cultural conversations around miscarriage, the emotional aftermath of loss, and the healing that comes from speaking the truth. Jessica also opens up about her journey through breast cancer, how grief stays in our bones, and why it’s time to normalize every phase of womanhood—from menstruation to menopause. If you’ve ever felt alone in your experience, this episode is a reminder that you're not.

Check out her new book
Jessica Zucker, Ph.D.
Order NORMALIZE IT

Dr. Jessica Zucker’s book: I Had a Miscarriage: A Memoir, a Movement

Follow Jessica on Instagram: @ihadamiscarriage

KEYWORDS
miscarriage awareness, pregnancy loss support, women's reproductive health, maternal mental health, Dr. Jessica Zucker, #IHadAMiscarriage movement, grief after miscarriage, trauma and healing, perinatal anxiety, perimenopause and motherhood, breaking cultural taboos, pregnancy after loss, miscarriage therapy, reproductive trauma, parenting after loss, women's health advocacy, Normalize It book, community in motherhood, healing through storytelling, female mental health

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/

Send us a text

After 40 episodes, your co-host Sam Strom is sharing her birth story.

Sam flips the roles and sharing the deeply personal story of how she became a mom—despite being sure she never would. Growing up with financial instability and watching the emotional toll motherhood took on her own mom, Sam was convinced kids weren’t for her. But life had other plans. In this conversation with Zara, she opens up about what changed, the reality of a traumatic pregnancy with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), and a birth experience that ended with two (nearly three) blood tranfusions and her surgeon saying “she’d never experienced anything like it in her 35 years.”

We talk about everything—from my complicated feelings around motherhood and how a therapist’s words unexpectedly nudged her into parenthood (spoiler alert, her words were less than honest), to the brutal reality of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) and a traumatic birth during the pandemic. She talks about the guilt, the pressure to “bounce back,” and how lit took months to truly bond with her son.

If you’ve ever questioned motherhood, felt unseen in your journey, or realized your experience didn’t match the picture-perfect version the world sells us—this episode is for you.

⭐️ If something here spoke to you, follow, rate, review, or share it with someone who might need to hear an honest story about motherhood. It will help both them and us get our podcast to folks who it can help.

We’re just getting started.
🔗 Resources & Mentions:
Tone It Up fitness during pregnancy
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth (not an endorsement—listen for why)
Taking Cara Babies sleep program

Pregnancy with hyperemesis gravidarum, traumatic birth, and postpartum recovery

birth story podcast, traumatic birth story, hyperemesis gravidarum, postpartum recovery, first-time mom story, pregnancy complications, birth trauma, motherhood podcast, honest motherhood stories, C-section experience, postpartum anxiety

I didn’t want kids, unplanned motherhood journey, giving birth during the pandemic, bonding with baby, postpartum guilt, postpartum identity crisis, maternal mental health, pregnancy after 35, pandemic birth story, severe morning sickness, emergency C-section, blood transfusion birth story

Support the show

Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com

Connect with Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms

Connect with Zara:

Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.com/in/zara-hanawalt/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@zarahanawalt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zarahanawalt/