Millennial Moms & Mental Health: Pressure, Perfectionism, and Pandemic Parenting with Allie McQuaid Artwork

The Sparkle Project

(Formerly Worthy Mother Podcast)

The Sparkle Project is a feminist podcast for moms who are done carrying the weight of motherhood alone and are ready to connect with who they truly are - their sparkle, if you will.

So many of us feel overwhelmed not because we’re failing, but because we’re mothering inside a patriarchal system that expects us to give endlessly, stay quiet, and lose ourselves in the process. This space challenges those outdated expectations and embraces a more empowered, more supported, more self-honoring version of motherhood.

Hosted by Emily Rose MacDonald, a divorced mom of two on her own journey to shine a little brighter, each episode explores the realities of modern motherhood through a feminist lens that values equity, autonomy, mental health, and the humanity of moms.

You’ll hear conversations about identity, mental health, self-care, healing, and the many ways we can reclaim ourselves in a world that often overlooks the needs of mothers.

If you’re a mom who believes we deserve more than survival, and that our culture has to evolve for moms to truly thrive, you’re in the right place.

Welcome to The Sparkle Project.

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@thesparkleprojectpod

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The Sparkle Project

Millennial Moms & Mental Health: Pressure, Perfectionism, and Pandemic Parenting with Allie McQuaid

May 06, 2025 • Episode 147

Millennial moms, where you at?! With May being Maternal Metnal Health Awareness Month, Emily is sitting down with therapist and perinatal mental health expert Allie McQuaid (@millennialmomtherapist) to explore the complex and often overwhelming reality of mental health for millennial moms.

From pandemic parenting and the intense mental load to breaking generational cycles and managing perfectionism, this conversation is a must-listen for moms who feel like they’re doing it all — and still questioning whether it’s enough.

Allie shares insights from her work with moms, her personal motherhood journey, and how social media, societal pressure, and motherhood myths are shaping the modern maternal mental health crisis.

They discuss: