For too long, women have been made to feel like bad mothers for having careers, for struggling with the responsibility of raising their children, or for making any mistakes \u2013 the most human of all traits \u2013 however small. And recent series such as Expats<\/a>, After the Flood<\/a> and Sex Education<\/a> have all taken the time to examine the vast spectrum of motherhood, in particular the mum guilt that thrives in a hyper-critical, hyper-scrutinised world.<\/p>\n In the former, Nicole Kidman\u2019s Margaret berates herself after her youngest son Gus is abducted while out with her new friend and prospective nanny. Margaret wasn\u2019t near her son when he went missing, nor did she ever ease up on tirelessly searching for him, and yet, she firmly believes that it is her fault he was taken.<\/p>\n The mum-of-three questions why her innate maternal instinct failed her on that horrific night, as previously she would intuitively know if Gus needed anything, even when she was asleep.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of mother loses her own child?\u201d she asks, her psychological turmoil offering a glimpse into the immense pressure women feel to intrinsically know what their child needs, wants and feels at every moment, which is, of course, impossible.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s Margaret\u2019s confidante and neighbour Hilary (Sarayu Blue), who doesn\u2019t want to have children, for which she is shamed by her own mother.<\/p>\n \u201cSociety puts so much pressure on women to have children to be whole,\u201d she says, but Hilary already feels complete. And yet, her mother\u2019s response is to reassure her that she herself wasn\u2019t set on having kids until Hilary was born, a moment which supposedly changed her entire stance.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know until you try it,\u201d she adds, highlighting how women are so often coaxed into motherhood with the false expectation that they will immediately know how to parent, their maternal nature kicking in when their newborn child arrives. But until that moment, their viewpoints on motherhood are considered irrelevant.<\/p>\n And even when women are pregnant, they\u2019re not immune from mum guilt, as seen in gripping ITV drama After the Flood. PC Joanna Marshall (Sophie Rundle) is frequently reprimanded by her family for working while she\u2019s heavily pregnant. And sure, Jo throws herself into life-threatening situations, such as wading into a flash flood, but it\u2019s to save a stranded mother and her baby. Legendary stuff, really.<\/p>\n She\u2019s also shamed for prioritising her career over her unborn child\u2019s health when there\u2019s the expectation that after her baby is born, she\u2019ll take a back seat \u2013 perhaps a desk job once her true purpose has arrived: being a mum.<\/p>\n But thankfully, regardless of how many times she\u2019s dismissed, or even when she\u2019s sent on early maternity leave by her male superiors, Jo doesn\u2019t give up on trying to solve the murder hanging over the Yorkshire town in which she lives. She signs up for her detective course, dismantles the corrupt fa\u00e7ade surrounding the enquiry, and single-handedly delivers her own baby.<\/p>\n Jo refused to be shamed into submission, knowing full well that she wasn\u2019t just going to be a capable parent, but a good officer, too.<\/p>\n Similarly, in the final season of celebrated Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education, we see Jean Milburn (Gillian Anderson) struggle to adjust to life as an older parent with a newborn.<\/p>\n The sex therapist is eager to embrace an opportunity to front her own radio show and reconnect with that seminal part of her identity after becoming a mother for the second time. But inevitably, as it\u2019s only weeks after she\u2019s given birth to Joy, Jean finds it difficult to juggle two children and her professional responsibilities.<\/p>\n Drifting from her teenage son, struggling to soothe her baby and unable to deliver a high-energy radio show, she starts to feel like a failure. But Jean isn\u2019t a \u2018bad mother\u2019 for not knowing how to soothe Joy when she cries, or for going back to work eight weeks after the birth of her child. It\u2019s that she\u2019s under immense pressure, exacerbated by the fact that she\u2019s a single parent.<\/p>\n Realistically, how can anyone be expected to cope with all of that?<\/p>\n![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/XPATS1UT102210823WONJUP01264RC3000-adce8af.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Expats\\"\/")
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