Health Applied
Why Women Feel So Lost After Motherhood | Siobhan Freegard on Menopause & Finding Yourself Again
What happens when the life you thought you had planned suddenly changes? Siobhan Freegard OBE is the founder of Netmums, a serial entrepreneur and one of the most influential voices in building communities for women. Over the past 25 years, she has helped millions of women feel less alone — but her own journey began with a profound personal struggle.In this episode of Health Applied, Siobhan opens up about becoming a mother, postnatal depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts and the enormous identity shift that comes with motherhood.She also shares why she believes women don't simply return to who they were after major life changes, whether that's motherhood, perimenopause or another period of transformation. Instead, we become something new. Watch The Full Series Of Health Applied Here - https://www.youtube.com/@UCbenIdBaHJsQ6w1oHRvR8AA Join the ConversationHave a question or a topic you’d like us to cover on a future episode? Comment below or message us on Instagram. Follow Health Applied:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/healthappliedpodcast/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@healthappliedpodcast Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/people/Health-Applied-Podcast/61584575055523/ Chapters: 00:00 – Meet Siobhan Freegard OBE 00:45 – When motherhood changed everything 02:48 – Siobhan's experience of postnatal depression 03:08 – Matrescence: the transformation of becoming a mother 04:17 – Why motherhood changes your identity 05:10 – You don't go back to who you were 05:31 – Perimenopause: becoming someone new again 06:42 – Finding the fun woman you were before 07:01 – What Siobhan thinks about postnatal depression now 08:03 – Why mothers need a village 09:17 – Where is the community? 10:00 – The intrusive thoughts mums are afraid to talk about 11:40 – Why intrusive thoughts can feel so terrifying 12:05 – How Netmums began 14:20 – Building Netmums before social media 16:13 – Building it without funding 17:05 – “I was just a mum” 18:10 – The mums who said Netmums changed their lives 19:15 – How big did Netmums become? 20:00 – The vision behind Netmums 21:30 – Why having a vision matters 23:00 – Pain, purpose and solving a real problem 24:00 – Why you can only control what you do today 25:00 – The next chapter: Chatmum.ai 27:00 – Can AI really support mothers? 29:00 – What women actually need from technology 31:00 – Turning personal experience into purpose 33:00 – Motherhood, ambition and identity 35:00 – Relationships, divorce and starting again 38:00 – Knowing when something isn't working 40:00 – The importance of self-care 42:00 – Why women put themselves last 44:00 – Supporting women through difficult times 46:00 – Siobhan's work beyond Netmums 48:00 – Finding purpose in the next chapter 50:00 – What Siobhan has learned from 25 years of supporting women 53:00 – The power of community 55:00 – Siobhan's advice for women today 57:00 – Final thoughts
