How Our Culture & Systems Failed Women Who Want to Be Mothers | #148
Our culture and systems have failed many women who want to be mothers, not through malice, but through neglect, misalignment, and outdated priorities.
In this episode, we explore how education, feminism, medicine, and career culture shaped a generation of women who were never truly prepared for motherhood. This is a nuanced, honest conversation about how our culture and systems have failed many women who want to be mothers.
We want to say this clearly up front: this conversation reflects our lived experiences and what we see in our work. It is not meant to invalidate women who had supportive, empowering paths to motherhood, nor does it represent every experience across different socioeconomic or cultural backgrounds.
What we explore here is a pattern. For decades, women were encouraged to prioritize education, career, and productivity, often with little to no preparation for health, fertility, or motherhood. Feminism brought women freedom, opportunity, and choice, and we honor that deeply. But like all cultural movements, there were unintended consequences that many women are only now grappling with.
In this conversation, we discuss:
• Why motherhood was treated as an afterthought rather than a life path
• How feminism empowered women — and where systems failed to evolve alongside it
• The lack of reproductive and health education for young women
• How birth control often masked dysfunction instead of addressing root causes
• Why so many women feel blindsided by fertility struggles in their 30s
• The cost of prioritizing weddings, careers, and productivity over preparation for motherhood
• Maternal burnout, postpartum strain, and the lack of systemic support
• What a more integrative, honest, and compassionate approach could look like
This is not about blame. It’s about awareness because we can’t change what we don’t acknowledge. Our hope is that by having these conversations openly, we can support women now and create better systems for future generations. If this episode resonated with you, please consider subscribing, sharing, or leaving a review. These conversations matter.
00:00 — Why We’re Having This Conversation
02:45 — This Isn’t Everyone’s Experience But It’s a Real Pattern
05:30 — Feminism Gave Women Choice... And Then the Pendulum Swung
09:45 — When Motherhood Became an Afterthought
13:20 — Career First, Motherhood “On the Side”
17:40 — The Lie We Were Sold About Fertility & Birth Control
22:10 — Why So Many Women Are Struggling to Conceive in Their 30s
27:15 — “Our Society Is Not Set Up for Women to Become Mothers”
31:00 — We Prepare for College & Sports — But Not Health
34:30 — Imagine a World Where Girls Are Taught About Their Bodies
38:20 — The Cost of Ignoring Motherhood (Burnout, Infertility, Trauma)
42:45 — Weddings, Nurseries & Misplaced Priorities
47:30 — What the Medical System Gets Wrong About Fertility
52:10 — How This Could Change for the Next Generation
56:00 — This Isn’t About Blame, It’s About What’s Broken
59:00 — Final Thoughts, Hope & Why These Conversations Matter
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Healthy As A Mother Podcast | YouTube
Healthy As A Mother Podcast | Instagram
Healthy As A Mother Podcast | TikTok
Healthy As A Mother Podcast | Merch Store
Find more from Dr. Leah:
Dr. Leah Gordon | Instagram
Dr. Leah Gordon | Website
Womanhood Wellness | Website
Find more from Dr. Morgan:
Dr. Morgan MacDermott | Instagram
Dr. Morgan MacDermott | Website
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