From Anti-Breeder to Motherhood at Age 44 | Lucy Smith

Unlock exclusive content and support the Whose Body Is It Podcast1:1 Guidance with Isabella MalbinGrowing up in England immersed in second-wave feminism, and later climate crisis narratives, overpopulation fears, and media portrayals of birth as traumatic and dangerous, Lucy absorbed the idea that motherhood was a low-status path — something she would never want for herself.Underneath those stories was something even deeper: a dislike of herself, compounded by years on hormonal birth control and cultural messaging framing female reproduction as punishment rather than power.  Lucy reflects on never holding a baby until she was 24, living for decades disconnected from her body, and how stories about motherhood shaped her identity long before she ever questioned them.I share why, despite growing up in a similar cultural soup in New York City I always knew I wanted to be a mother.Lucy also opens up about the unexpected transformation that happened in her 40s after two decades on hormonal birth control.Through our coaching work together, we discovered that Lucy subconsciously feared that wanting even more happiness through motherhood might somehow threaten the incredible relationship she already had with her husband. Could life really get any better? It turns out, it could.Lucy reflects on the strange tension of being aware of declining fertility statistics at age 44 while simultaneously tracking her biomarkers, seeing healthy cycles on paper, and feeling more vital than ever.We also explore how easily Lucy could have become vulnerable to the fear-based, predatory marketing of the fertility industry had she been single and desperate for children in her 30s — and why she never even considered engaging with “Big Fertility” once she learned how to track her cycle and move through the subconscious fears that had shaped her for decades.Follow Lucy Smith on SubstackFollow Whose Body Is It on Instagram⁠⁠Classes for anti-woke women⁠Music //⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Time by ASHUTOSH⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Music promoted by Free Stock Music⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License