The Laura Dowling Experience

Becca Maberly did everything "right." An A-grade student with an obstetrician father, she got to the hospital, had her baby with no pain relief, and was home for lunch - certain she was going to be brilliant at motherhood. Then the postnatal period arrived, and she went, in her words, straight to the bottom of the class.

In this honest, funny and disarming conversation, Becca and Laura pull apart the gap between what we're told motherhood will feel like and what it can actually be. Becca talks about feeling like an unnatural mother, the loneliness of the long hours in between, and the maternal rage that surges from nought to a hundred over spilled milk. She shares the day she asked her GP for help and was sent to a psychiatric unit, only to be handed a leaflet and told to count to ten.

She also names something few people hear about: D-MER, or dysphoric milk ejection reflex - the wave of crushing sadness that hit her at every let-down, which she only understood years later. The conversation moves on through renegotiating a relationship after a baby, a ruptured ectopic pregnancy that nearly went unnoticed, and why Becca now believes the meaning of life is simply finding your own balance. It's a reminder that if you're not loving every moment, you're not failing - and you're far from alone.

🔑 Key Points

From A-grade student to the bottom of the class
Becca sailed through pregnancy and birth, then found the postnatal period the hardest thing she'd ever done — and the mismatch between expectation and reality floored her.

"Enjoy every moment" can do real harm
Being told to treasure a stage you are quietly struggling through can leave mothers feeling ashamed and isolated rather than supported.

Not bonding straight away is more common than we admit
Becca loved her son but didn't feel the instant, overwhelming rush she'd been promised — and says a baby can feel like a stranger for a long time.

D-MER is real and rarely talked about
Dysphoric milk ejection reflex brought a homesick, crushing sadness at every let-down; naming it, years later, changed how she understood it.

Maternal rage often comes from feeling unsupported
The nought-to-a-hundred surge over something tiny is frequently about exhaustion, unmet expectations and carrying too much alone.

Asking for help doesn't always get the right response
When Becca told her GP she was angry and shouting, she was sent to a psychiatric unit and handed a CBT leaflet — a reminder of how far perinatal support still has to go.

Talking openly is its own kind of therapy
Ranting honestly online led Becca to realise she wasn't the only one — and connecting with other women became the support she couldn't find elsewhere.

Honesty is the most useful thing we can offer new parents
Not to frighten anyone, but to sit somewhere between "you'll be great" and "this could be the hardest thing you ever do" — the truth is usually in between.

📚 Resources

A Mother Place
Becca's platform for honest, unfiltered motherhood

Postnatal Depression (HSE)
HSE information and support

Talk Therapy (HSE)
Talk therapy and counselling options

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 — Intro
01:51 — From A-grade student to the bottom of the class
04:00 — Calling BS on "enjoy every moment"
04:52 — The feeding nobody warns you about
09:31 — Loneliness and the hours in between
11:58 — The GP, a psychiatric unit and a CBT leaflet
15:13 — D-MER: the sadness that comes with let-down
19:19 — Maternal rage and the spilled-milk surge
22:16 — When your baby feels like a stranger
24:02 — Renegotiating the relationship after a baby
37:11 — Her book, and a ruptured ectopic pregnancy
42:28 — The meaning of life is balance
Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.
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In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, skin expert and Skin Nerd founder Jennifer Rock explains why so much health and skincare advice online is built to entertain rather than educate — and how to tell the difference.

She makes a straight-talking case for checking qualifications, standards and the source behind any advice before you act on it, so the next viral "must buy" doesn't catch you out.

🔑Key Points
• Why qualifications and standards matter in skincare and health
• How social media is designed to entertain, not educate
• Why you should always check the source of your advice
• A simple filter for viral trends and "must buy" claims

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.
Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.
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Laura sits down with community pharmacist Darragh Connolly, who has built a men's health service — Men's Health Downunder — around something most clinics rush past: helping men get their sexual function back after prostate surgery. It's a candid, frequently very funny conversation about a subject usually wrapped in silence and shame.
Darragh explains the male anatomy in plain (and memorable) terms, why nightly "micro-erections" keep the penis healthy, and what actually changes after a prostatectomy. He walks through how a penis pump works, what constriction rings are for, and why this isn't only for men who've had cancer surgery — smoking, diabetes, spinal injury, certain medicines and simply getting older can all play a part.
Running through all of it is a hopeful message: a prostate diagnosis or surgery is not the end of sex, intimacy is far more than penetration, and men well into their 80s can still enjoy a full sex life. Darragh also makes the case for meeting men's sexual health at the pharmacy counter, not only the consultant's clinic.

🔑 Key Points

Sexual health is health — and still taboo
There's deep shame and silence around men's genitals and sexual function, and Darragh's whole approach is to demystify it, often with humour, so men actually seek help.

Micro-erections keep the penis healthy
Men have around five micro-erections a night that bring blood, oxygen and nutrients to the tissue; without them it's "use it or lose it", and the penis can shrink and lose function.

Erectile dysfunction has many causes, not just prostate surgery
Ageing, smoking, diabetes, lower-back trauma, spinal injury and some medications can all affect erectile function.

How a penis pump actually works
Used for five to ten minutes a day, it draws blood into the penis like training a muscle, improving vascular and nerve health over time.

Constriction rings let men maintain an erection for sex
Paired with the pump, a constriction ring traps blood to hold an erection for penetrative sex — but should never be left on more than six to eight minutes.

A prostate diagnosis is not the end of sex
With the right tools, men who hadn't had an erection in months or years can have penetrative sex again — and intimacy is always more than penetration.

Know the warning signs of prostate trouble
Dribbling, a weak stream, going more often (especially at night) and "stage fright" can point to an enlarged prostate; Movember is a good place to learn the signs.

📚 Resources

Men's Health Downunder
Darragh Connolly's Irish men's health service and the surgical-grade penis pumps discussed

Movember
the men's health charity Darragh recommends for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and male suicide awareness

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome and sponsor
01:36 — Why a pharmacist is talking about men's health
03:24 — How Darragh got into men's health
04:32 — What a prostatectomy actually involves
07:28 — Male anatomy explained simply
13:48 — Micro-erections and "use it or lose it"
20:55 — How a penis pump works
24:31 — Constriction rings and maintaining an erection
38:33 — The prostate and its warning signs
52:44 — How Viagra and Cialis were discovered
57:00 — Low-dose Cialis, the pump and the post-surgery "void"
1:01:24 — Couples, intimacy and a hopeful note
Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.
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In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, GP Dr Mick Crotty explains why weight is far less within our conscious control than we are led to believe — and why so many people carry a load of self-blame they never deserved.

He walks Laura through the genetics of appetite, the brain's reward response to food, and the "set point" it quietly defends, which is why weight so often returns after a diet. It's a clip that gently takes apart the "just eat less and move more" myth.

🔑Key Points
• Why "just eat less and move more" is an oversimplification
• How genetics and the appetite system shape hunger and fullness
• What the brain's "set point" is, and why weight often returns after dieting
• Why this is a medical issue, not a personal failing

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.
Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.
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How many women quietly put up with heavy bleeding, painful periods or a difficult coil fitting, telling themselves it is just part of being a woman?

In this episode, Laura sits down with obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Áine Dempsey, who works at BlackRock Women's Health and at the Rotunda, for an honest, practical conversation about the things women are so often told to live with - and what can actually be done about them.

Áine explains what a hysteroscopy really involves, why polyps and fibroids drive heavy bleeding, and when the Mirena coil is the right first step before ablation or surgery. She is candid about pain relief during coil fittings, the six-month settling period, and where the copper coil fits in.

The conversation moves into perimenopause and HRT, smear tests, HPV and colposcopy, and the realities of painful sex, vaginismus and caring for women who carry past sexual trauma. She closes on labour ward life, her own two pregnancies, the magic of epidurals, and why no woman should feel she has to suffer in silence.

At its core, this episode is about taking your own symptoms seriously and making your gynae health a priority.

🔑 Key Points

Heavy bleeding is not something to put up with
changing a pad every hour, bleeding for more than five days, or planning your life around your period all count, and there is plenty that can help.

Flooding is a symptom women rarely volunteer
Áine asks directly because most women never mention soaking through their clothes or sheets.

A hysteroscopy is not as frightening as it sounds
a thin camera and a well-briefed team can investigate bleeding, polyps and fibroids, usually without a general anaesthetic.

You deserve proper pain relief for a coil fitting
from paracetamol and ibuprofen beforehand to numbing gel and a local cervical block.

The Mirena coil takes about six months to settle
bloating, tenderness or mood changes often ease, and it can be used as part of HRT.

HRT is about long-term health, not just symptoms
beyond brain fog and night sweats, it supports heart and bone health.

Painful sex is not normal
whether it stems from low oestrogen, endometriosis or past trauma, there are options that help.

You do not have to suffer in silence
if something is affecting your quality of life, make your gynae health a priority.

📚 Resources

BlackRock Health Women's Health Centre
Hysteroscopy (HSE)
The Mirena and copper coils (HSE)
HRT and menopause treatment (HSE)
Cervical screening and HPV (CervicalCheck, HSE)

⏱️ Timestamps

02:04 - Inside a day at BlackRock Women's Health
03:23 - What a hysteroscopy actually involves
06:21 - Polyps, fibroids and heavy bleeding
09:02 - Heavy bleeding and flooding in perimenopause
10:11 - The Mirena coil as a first-line treatment
13:56 - Pain relief and what to expect from a coil fitting
18:02 - The Mirena as part of HRT, and sleep
20:04 - Mental health support through menopause
22:35 - Smear tests, HPV and colposcopy
24:35 - Painful sex and trauma-informed care
29:18 - Vaginismus, physio and the pelvic floor
33:34 - Her own pregnancies and epidurals
37:56 - Don't suffer in silence
Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube here. Don’t forget to follow The Laura Dowling Experience podcast on Instagram @lauradowlingexperience for updates and more information. You can also follow our host, Laura Dowling, @fabulouspharmacist for more insights and tips. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it really helps us out! Stay tuned for more great conversations.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.