Chloe with her twin daughters. Sydney. From the project 'Mother'. An overview of images from the past 7 years made in various locations throughout Australia of mothers and their children. Soon after the birth of my first son I noticed very quickly that there was a persistent trope of the doting, unruffled mother who bounces back to her former ‘self’ soon after the birth of their child. However this did not come close to showing the multifaceted reality that I or any other mothers around me were experiencing. Prior to having children I was presented with an overtly hollow portrayal of what it is to become a mother. With a heavy focus and intensity on the pregnancy and well being of the baby there was little to inform or support the complex and profound emotional and physiological transformation that changes our very being once we give birth. I struggled to find healthy and realistic representations of the new day to day lived experience, the anxiety of caring for a new life and the healing, leaking and forever changed bodies and minds. These disconnected cultural constructions around motherhood worked against me and held me to an unachievable standard, adversely affecting my mental health, subjecting me to more confusion, angst and guilt at an already incredibly raw and fragile time in my life. Pregnancy, birth and motherhood is one of the most profound, deeply beautiful and intimate experiences, yet it is also one of the most physically and emotionally challenging, and caring for children can be relentless, demanding, claustrophobic and lonely.