If you’ve ever felt like you blinked and somehow went from nappies to night sweats, you’re not alone. More and more women are saying the same thing: they never really recovered from the postnatal phase before perimenopause came knocking.
As women on average are having children later, the hormonal window between postnatal recovery and perimenopause is shrinking. For some, what feels like never-ending exhaustion, low mood, or anxiety isn’t “just motherhood”, it’s the overlapping effects of shifting hormones that no one warned us about.
Let’s break it down. After giving birth, oestrogen and progesterone plummet, and while they eventually rebalance, it can take months or even years. Add in broken sleep, breastfeeding, and stress, and your nervous system is on red alert. Fast forward a few years, and perimenopause begins, often bringing the same symptoms back around: brain fog, fatigue, mood swings, low libido. It’s no wonder so many women feel like they’ve been running on empty for a decade.
But it’s not just biology, it’s culture. Today’s mums are told they can “have it all,” but what that often means is the have to DO IT ALL! Careers, kids, households, social lives, while holding themselves to impossible standards. Chronic stress raises cortisol, which directly interferes with the balance of oestrogen and progesterone. When your stress hormones are screaming, your sex hormones can’t whisper.
And then there’s the modern environment. Hormone-disrupting chemicals, from plastics and cleaning products to skincare and food packaging, can mimic or block natural hormones, leaving our systems struggling to find balance. Combine that with nutrient-depleted diets and constant digital stimulation, and our poor endocrine systems barely stand a chance.
The truth? It’s not you, it’s the world we’re living in. But knowledge is power. Understanding the link between postnatal depletion and perimenopause can help you take back control. Small changes make a difference: prioritising sleep (yes, even over laundry), eating for blood sugar balance, supporting your gut health, and saying no more often than you say maybe.
And perhaps most importantly, giving yourself grace. You’re not lazy or losing it. You’re living through a time of huge hormonal shifts layered on top of modern pressures that generations before us didn’t face.
At The House of Hormones, we want to make sure you never feel like you’re navigating this alone. Whether you’re recovering from birth, facing perimenopause, or stuck somewhere in between, your body deserves time, care, and understanding, not perfection.
So next time someone tells you it’s “just being a mum” or “just your age,” remember: it’s your hormones, your environment, your pace, and your story to own.
With Love
THOH
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About Mums WHo Build (The MOB)
The MOB is a movement for mothers who believe that motherhood and ambition can coexist. Through meet-ups, workshops, and our online community, we help mums build businesses, confidence, and financial independence — together.
