Mamahood After Trauma Podcast Reaches 10,000 Downloads and an International Audience

The Mamahood After Trauma podcast, an independent mental health podcast for trauma-surviving mothers.

I started this podcast from nothing. Somehow, it just passed 10,000 downloads.

I'm still having a hard time believing I'm writing that sentence.

Mamahood After Trauma has officially surpassed 10,000 lifetime podcast downloads.

And while 10,000 is a pretty damn cool number, that's actually not the part of this milestone that blows my mind the most.

This little independent podcast has now reached listeners in 89 countries.

It's ranked in the Top 5% of podcasts globally.

It has been recognized by PodMatch as a Top 10 Mental Health podcast.

And in August 2026, I discovered something I genuinely wasn't expecting:

Mamahood After Trauma was charting internationally.

The podcast reached #12 in the Mental Health podcast category in Malaysia and also appeared in Norway's Mental Health charts.

From rural New Brunswick, Canada.

What the actual ... 😂

Podmatch.com recognizes the Mamahood After Trauma podcast as a Top 10 Mental Health podcast.

From nothing to 10,000 downloads

When I started Mamahood After Trauma, there wasn't an audience waiting for me.

There wasn't a production team.

There wasn't a big media company.

There wasn't some elaborate strategy guaranteeing that people would listen.

There was simply a microphone, an idea, and a deep belief that trauma and motherhood were conversations worth having.

And then I made another episode.

And another.

And another.

Today, Podbean shows 278 published episodes and more than 10,000 lifetime downloads.

That number represents years of showing up.

There were plenty of times when the numbers felt painfully small.

There were plenty of moments when I wondered whether anyone was listening.

There were plenty of times when I questioned whether the work was actually going anywhere.

And then, somewhere along the way, something changed.

People started finding the show.

And they kept finding it.

This little podcast went global

One of the strangest parts of this milestone is realizing that the show isn't just being listened to by people in my own community.

It's reached 89 countries.

That means somewhere along the way, conversations that began in rural New Brunswick started making their way into homes, cars, headphones and lives around the world.

And then came the charts.

Seeing Mamahood After Trauma appear in the Mental Health charts in Malaysia and Norway was one of those moments where I had to stop and stare at the screen.

How did my little podcast get there?

I don't have a clever answer.

I just kept making the next episode.

Why this matters to me

Mamahood After Trauma exists for mothers who are carrying the effects of trauma while trying to raise their children differently.

The podcast explores trauma recovery, motherhood, emotional regulation, boundaries, identity, triggers and the complicated reality of breaking cycles while you're still healing yourself.

Emily Cleghorn, creator and host of Mamahood After Trauma. Photo courtesy of Lucinda Richard Photography

Because trauma doesn't stop at a border.

Neither does motherhood.

The circumstances may look different from country to country, but mothers everywhere are asking versions of the same questions:

Why do I react this way?

Why is motherhood bringing so much up for me?

How do I stop repeating what was done to me?

How do I become the mother I want to be when I'm still healing myself?

Those conversations matter.

And apparently, they're reaching much farther than I ever imagined they would.

What's next for Mamahood After Trauma?

I'm not treating 10,000 downloads as the finish line.

If anything, it's confirmation that the work is reaching people—and now I want to make that work even more useful.

The next evolution of Mamahood After Trauma is about creating a more intentional journey through the podcast rather than asking listeners to simply choose from hundreds of episodes.

The existing library will increasingly be organized around the Cycle Breaker's Journey, helping listeners identify where they are in their healing and find the conversations that meet them there.

The podcast will remain the hub, with the broader Mamahood After Trauma ecosystem—including the Rising Room community and deeper support pathways—designed to help listeners move from simply consuming content to actually applying it in their lives.

Because 278 episodes is a lot of content.

I don't want to give someone 278 doors and say, “Good luck. Pick one.”

I want to be able to say:

Start here.

Then:

Go here next.

And eventually:

You're ready for this.

A very big thank you

If you've ever listened to an episode, shared one, recommended the podcast, sent me a message, invited me onto your show, been a guest, or simply pressed play—

thank you.

You helped take this little podcast from rural New Brunswick to ears around the world.

And I don't take that lightly.

I'm incredibly proud of what I've built.

I'm incredibly grateful for the people who have helped me build it.

And I'm still a little stunned that I'm able to write:

Mamahood After Trauma has surpassed 10,000 downloads.

Holy poo...

I actually did that. 💜

And apparently, we're just getting started.