Dr Doireann: ‘I felt overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I didn’t know’

“Before my children were born, I used to do one load of laundry a week, and then suddenly it was like one if not two every day – those type of adjustments come as a shock to the system.”

That’s according to Cork GP Dr Doireann O’Leary, who was reflecting on the early days of parenting and how it took time to leave behind her old life, and lean into ‘mom life’.

Dr Doireann is part of a new HSE South West Women’s HealthPodcast – Your Body, Mind and Baby.

The eight-part series is designed as a resource for women and families, offering expert insights, advice and support across obstetrics, gynaecology and newborn health. It covers a wide range of topics including complex menopause, menorrhagia, pelvic floor dysfunction, supporting families through the NICU, breastfeeding support, birth reflections, perinatal mental health, and the early days with newborns.

In the first episode, The First 6 Weeks – Take The Help, Dr Aisling Garvey and Dr Neidin Bussmann, Consultant Neonatologists at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), join Dr Doireann to share their personal experiences of early parenthood.

Mum-of-two Doireann remembers how transitioning to a life with babies took some getting used to.

She remembers how herself and her husband would typically get dressed up and go out to dinner on Friday night, and head to brunch on a Saturday.

“And I think for the first year of my first son, I was still trying to live my old pre-baby life – I was trying to keep up with that, because that was all I knew. I was trying to live my old life while trying to navigate and understand the best rhythm for my new life,” she said.

And despite all her preparations before her first baby’s arrival, she admits she still found it overwhelming.

“I am a medical doctor, I know how to recognise a sick baby, I know what to do if a baby has a fever, or a rash, but I had no idea about mom life, how to bath or swaddle a baby – you’re not taught that at medical school! I was very nervous before my first child was born because I was overwhelmed by the how much I didn’t know.”

She ‘diligently’ watched YouTube videos about how to bath a new born – and also had a doula come over to her house to teach her things like baby wearing.

“You could say it was OTT but I felt overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I didn’t know,” she admitted.

She recommended a book called Your Baby, Week By Week as a brilliant resource, but said her own mother was, and is, the baby expert she relies on most of all.

In those early days, she found lying down to rest, and conserving energy, was vital and recommended listening to a podcast by Andrew Huberman, who talks about the importance of non-sleep deep rest.

She also found her public health nurse to be an incredible service, but admitted that “some might say it’s a postcode lottery and depending on where you live the service may vary”.

Dr Doireann said: “There are also people doing amazing work in communities, things like mom and baby groups. With all of that said, there are places where women feel isolated and not supported. The system isn’t perfect, but try to find your support network, it’s so important for the early days and years even.”

Even informal supports like talking to friends are helpful.

“I had a friend who had a baby two days after my baby was born and we’ve been in almost hourly communication via What’sApp for the last two years and it’s so amazing!,” said Dr Doireann.

Elaine Harrington, communications manager at CUMH, had the original vision for the podcast.

“We know there’s an overwhelming amount of information online for women and mothers, and it can be difficult to navigate or know what’s trustworthy,” she said.

“The HSE is a reliable source of health content, but sometimes there are barriers to accessing that information. We’re fortunate to have incredible experts within CUMH and across the health service who can guide women to the right care pathways, so this podcast is about bridging that gap.

“By using platforms that women already engage with, like Instagram and Spotify, we can meet them where they are. Dr Doireann has been doing this brilliantly for years, building a huge following and showing that women want to educate themselves and better understand their health.”

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“It’s not only a valuable resource for women and mums, but it also gives us a chance to shine a light on the incredible people working in our health service. They are passionate about promoting women’s and infants’ health and are true experts in their fields, but stepping into a podcast like this can be daunting.

“Hearing such encouraging responses has been incredibly reassuring for them, and reinforces the importance of sharing their knowledge in this way.”

Plans are already underway for series two.

“Its success has only inspired us to do more. There are so many important topics still to cover, and before we start planning series two, we really want to hear from listeners about what they’d like us to focus on next.”

• ‘Women’s HealthPodcast – Your Body, Mind and Baby from the HSE’ is available for free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Episodes released in the last week include Breastfeeding Support – Mairead O’Sullivan - and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction – Prof Barry O’Reilly, while episodes to be released later this month include Supporting Families Through the NICU – Susan Vaughan & Roisin Reid, and Menorrhagia – Dr Aenne Helps, both of which are due to be released on October 16.