When motherhood changes your brain: the missing role of hormones Laura Guckian @menopause_doctor
When motherhood changes your brain: the missing role of hormones Laura Guckian  @menopause_doctor
Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Becoming a mother is often described as the happiest time in a woman’s life. But for many, it can also be the hardest.
In this week’s episode, Dr Louise Newson is joined by Motherhood Coach, Maternal Mental Wellbeing expert and Founder of Mind Mommy Coaching, Laura Guckian, who shares her deeply personal story of severe postnatal mental health difficulties that led her to admit herself to a psychiatric hospital when her son was just 10 months old. Years later, she was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, helping her make sense of experiences that had never fully been explained.
Together, Louise and Laura explore why hormonal changes after pregnancy can have such profound effects on the brain, particularly for neurodivergent women, and why hormones are so often overlooked in conversations about maternal mental health. They discuss the limitations of labels such as postnatal depression, why antidepressants don’t address the underlying cause for every woman and how understanding progesterone, testosterone and estradiol may transform the way we support mothers.
This is an important conversation about feeling unseen, finding answers and why every woman deserves healthcare that looks beyond symptoms to understand what’s really happening.
LET'S CONNECT
👉 Subscribe on YouTube
youtube.com/@menopause_doctor?utm_source=DLNpodcast+&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=BAU+
👉 Instagram
instagram.com/menopause_doctor/?hl=en&utm_source=DLNpodcast+&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=BAU+
👉 LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/drlouisenewson/?utm_source=DLNpodcast+&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=BAU+
👉 TikTok
tiktok.com/@drlouisenewson?utm_source=DLNpodcast+&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=BAU+
👉 Spotify
open.spotify.com/show/7dCctfyI9bODGDaFnjfKhg?utm_source=DLNpodcast+&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=BAU+
LEARN MORE
👉 Download my balance app
balance-app.com/?utm_source=DLNpodcast+&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=BAU+
👉 Order my new book
bio.to/ThePowerofHormones?utm_source=DLNpodcast+&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=BAU+
👉 Speak to Newson Clinic
newsonhealth.co.uk/?utm_source=louise_podcast&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=clinic_cross_promotion
👉 Visit my website
drlouisenewson.co.uk/?utm_source=DLNpodcast+&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=BAU+
When motherhood changes your brain: the missing role of hormones Laura GuckianHormones after cancer   Jill ChmielewskiElizabeth Day on the cost of not believing womenWelcome to our live show!Testosterone for women: Benefits, science & live Q&AADHD diagnosis   Kate MoryoussefRefused HRT   Elinor WildeIgnoring hormones   Dr Holly CardingPsychiatrists   Anna SalinasThe Power of Hormones : Dr Louise Newson and Balance editorial director Kat KeoghYour Peri Godmother: Shelly Horton on surviving and thriving through perimenopauseBreaking barriers in women’s health: Hormones, education and HRT with Dr Fionnuala Vernon
Dr Louise Newson |

When motherhood changes your brain: the missing role of hormones Laura Guckian

SHARE TO X SHARE TO REDDIT SHARE TO FACEBOOK WALLPAPER