Neurodiversity in Motherhood: Why it matters.

There is an important conversation we want to bring into the light.

Neurodiversity— and ADHD in particular — plays a significant role in many mothers’ experiences of overwhelm, exhaustion, anxiety, and emotional distress. Yet it is still rarely spoken about openly in motherhood spaces.

Research suggests that ADHD affects around 4–6% of adults, and is likely under-diagnosed — especially in women. Around 1 in 30 women have a formal diagnosis — and many more meet criteria without ever having been identified.

What is particularly significant is that having a diagnosis of ADHD prior to pregnancy is a known risk factor for developing depression and anxiety during the perinatal period.

This matters deeply.

ADHD is increasingly understood as a neuro-inflammatory condition. Likewise, postnatal depression and anxiety are also now recognised as neuro-inflammatory states. Neuro-inflammation occurs when there is an imbalance in brain chemistry and signalling, particularly in specific regions of the brain — often triggered or worsened by stress, sleep deprivation, hormonal shifts, and overwhelm.

When you place these two conditions together — ADHD and the realities of motherhood — the impact can be profound.

Clinically, we see this again and again.

Some women enter motherhood with a known ADHD diagnosis. Others have managed well earlier in life, often through masking — a coping strategy more common in girls and women, involving mimicking, compensating, and pushing through.

But motherhood changes the equation.

The strategies that once helped — sleeping in, withdrawing to recover, switching off, or having long stretches of uninterrupted focus — are suddenly unavailable. Many women also stop ADHD medication during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which can further intensify symptoms.

Under these conditions, ADHD can significantly affect:

• organisation and planning

• concentration and mental clarity

• emotional regulation

• fatigue and overwhelm

Motherhood can become more anxiety-provoking, more draining, and harder to navigate — even for women who have never previously met criteria for a diagnosis.

It’s also important to understand that ADHD is not a single, simple condition. It’s an umbrella that can include learning differences, challenges with emotional regulation, sensory sensitivity, and patterns of hyperfocus — often on things that are interesting or stimulating, rather than the repetitive, invisible labour of motherhood.

Cooking, housework, logistics, and constant interruptions are rarely where ADHD brains thrive.

So what helps?

While medication can be an important support for some, there are also many non-pharmacological strategies that matter enormously in motherhood, including:

• nervous-system-informed approaches

• forward planning and anticipating challenges

• emotional regulation tools

• executive-function and organisational support

• movement, mindfulness, and structured rest

• nutrition, gut health, and anti-inflammatory approaches

Because what inflames the body often inflames the brain.

The intersection of neurodiversity, neuro-inflammation, and motherhood is powerful — and when it’s misunderstood, mothers are too often left feeling inadequate, broken, or as though they are failing.

They are not.

They are responding to a nervous system under immense pressure.

This is why, in the upcoming round of Mothermorphosis, we are introducing new content specifically focused on neurodiversity and ADHD in mothers.

Our intention is simple but profound:

To help more women feel seen, understood, and supported, and to offer practical, compassionate tools that actually fit the realities of motherhood.

Motherhood is already challenging enough.
When we understand what is really going on — we can replace judgement with care, and shame with understanding.

Learn more about the upcoming Mothermorphosis program here >