Sabrina Rudin grew up expecting motherhood to come naturally to her. She was raised holistically, she ate well, she meditated, she had manifested the pregnancy. She had the nursery. She was ready.

She left the hospital and felt nothing like she expected.

In this episode, Sabrina shares the story of her postpartum OCD — the intrusive thoughts that flooded in, the terror of thinking something was fundamentally broken in her, and the moment she told her husband she thought she'd "become a murderer." His response changed everything.

Dr. Becky and Sabrina move through the full arc: the version of herself she expected to be, the night things fell apart, eight months of therapy, and the realization that landed years later — that a thought is a thought, and she gets to choose which ones she believes.

If you've ever had a thought that scared you after your baby arrived, this one's for you.

Read Dr. Becky’s blog post about postpartum intrusive thoughts. And if you’re looking for additional support, take a look at The Motherhood Center’s list of resources.

If you are in crisis, dial 988.

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Looking for more support navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and life with a new baby? Good Inside Baby gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming in early parenthood.

Thank you Airbnb for making this episode possible! Host your home or book your next stay on Airbnb.

Learn more about Good Inside.

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When Kevin Maguire became a dad for the second time, he experienced something few new fathers are screened for or even warned about: paternal postpartum depression.

His son wouldn't stop crying, and Kevin couldn't make it stop. He took the dog out, sat on a bench, and started bawling himself — because he didn't understand what he was experiencing.

Kevin is the author of The New Fatherhood, a Substack he started after his own experience with PPD, as well as a book by the same name. He and Becky talk about why new fathers are largely unscreened for postpartum depression, what the symptoms actually look like in men, and what Kevin built after being completely broken open by fatherhood.

If you're a new dad, a dad-to-be, or you love one — this episode is worth sending to someone.

Dr. Becky & Kevin get into:

• why becoming a parent can feel like a demotion, and why that framing is more useful than it sounds;
• the video game that gave Kevin something his baby couldn't: a sense of control;
• what it means to sit in the mess when you've spent your whole life fixing things;
• the line Kevin keeps coming back to: "If you don't deal with your demons, your demons will raise your kids."

Kevin has a free, anonymous online PPD screening tool designed with UK psychologists. He also funds direct access to therapy for dads through his newsletter.

Read the list Dr. Becky put together of things that the non-birth parent can do when the baby arrives.

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Looking for more support navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and life with a new baby? Good Inside Baby gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming in early parenthood.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Bobbie: Learn more about Bobbie’s organic formula and support for every feeding journey at hibobbie.com
• Airbnb: Host your home or book your next stay on Airbnb
• Coterie: Get 20% off with the code GOODINSIDEBABY20

Learn more about Good Inside.

Follow Dr. Becky on Instagram.

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Hannah Bronfman thought getting pregnant would be easy. She'd spent a decade in wellness, she was healthy, she was young. Then came two and a half years of trying, a miscarriage, failed cycles, and eventually IVF.

Ten days after finally giving birth to their son Preston — in the middle of a pandemic — she virtually interviewed Barack Obama. She was wearing an adult diaper.

Hannah and her husband Brendan Fallis join Dr. Becky to talk about the parts of new parenthood that don't make the highlights reel: what fertility struggles actually feel like from the inside, the maternal health fears that don't go away even when you have the best care, and the specific kind of panic that hits the moment you leave the hospital with a baby and realize no one is coming with you.

They also talk about a parenting philosophy they both arrived at early: their kids were going to live their life, not the other way around. Why that's not selfish. And why it might be one of the best things you can do for a child.

Looking for more support navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and life with a new baby? Good Inside Baby gives you practical tools, scripts, and expert guidance for the moments that can feel most overwhelming in early parenthood.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Pipette: Get 15% off Pipette’s line of SPF products with the code GOODINSIDESPF at pipettebaby.com
• LMNT: Get a free 8-count sample pack with your purchase at drinkLMNT.com/goodinside
• Airbnb: Host your home or book your next stay on Airbnb

Learn more about Good Inside.

Follow Dr. Becky on Instagram.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.