Good Inside with Dr. Becky“Why Don’t I Feel a Bond With My Baby?” A Honest Conversation About Early Motherhood
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- May 7, 2026
- Duration
- 30m
- Channel
- Good Inside with Dr. Becky
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
What If I Don’t Feel a Bond With My Baby? What if you don’t feel that immediate rush of love after your baby is born? In this episode, Dr. Becky sits down with writer and mom Ruthie Ackerman to talk about something many parents experience—but almost no one says out loud: *what if the bond doesn’t come right away?* Ruthie shares what those early weeks actually felt like for her—watching her husband connect easily with their baby while she wondered, "Will I ever feel this?" She opens up about the quiet fears, the self-doubt, and the stories she told herself about what it meant. Together, they unpack:
- Why bonding doesn’t always happen instantly (and why that’s more common than you think)
- How anxiety and expectation can make it harder to feel what’s already there
- The pressure of “natural” parenting—and what happens when things don’t feel natural at all
- How connection can build slowly, in small, everyday moments
This conversation is a reminder that there is no single “right” way to become a parent—and no timeline your feelings have to follow. Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:
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SPEAKERS
Dr. Becky
hostClinical psychologist and parenting expert behind Good Inside.
Ruthie Ackerman
guestWriter and mother sharing her firsthand experience of early motherhood and bonding challenges.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Good Inside with Dr. Becky, featuring Dr. Becky and Ruthie Ackerman, “Why Don’t I Feel a Bond With My Baby?” A Honest Conversation About Early Motherhood explores early motherhood doubts: bonding isn’t instant, and that’s normal Ruthie describes expecting motherhood to feel “unnatural” and fearing she was predisposed to poor attachment due to family trauma and lacking secure models.
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