A mom has opened up about her experience with motherhood, challenging the societal expectation that every mother should find the role fulfilling.

Lauren Archer, 38, shared her honest thoughts on the often less-talked-about aspects of parenting, such as the sacrifices you make and forgetting who you were before becoming a mom.

"The thought of motherhood not solely fulfilling me was a theme that kept coming up for me throughout my 7 years as a parent," Archer told Newsweek.

She said that after viewing highlight reels on social media, it can be "incredibly easy" to walk away feeling "not enough."

Sharing her reasons for posting about her realities of motherhood, Archer, from Los Angeles, told Newsweek that she wanted to feel less alone in her thought that "I love my kids, but I want to love myself and what I'm doing too."

"Maternal mental health matters and having realistic views of parenthood and exploring duality of emotions and how both can live in the same space without giving or taking from each other is important," the mom of two said.

The reaction to her video, which has clocked up almost 800,000 views, has been "overwhelmingly positive," with numerous moms expressing their gratitude for Archer's honesty.

One Instagram user commented: "I appreciate that you shared this. The comments are so weird. This is an age old common truth, but people are so committed to it being taboo to discuss they'd rather pretend it's not a real or common experience."

Another wrote: "The harsh judgment moms are met with for being honest is why necessary conversations about motherhood are never had. There's a tough reality to motherhood and it's important that moms share it."

Acknowledging that some comments were of a negative nature, Archer told Newsweek that it's "wonderful to connect" with others who feel the same way: "That shows me there is value in having these conversations and that they matter."

When asked whether she thought motherhood was what she expected, Archer told Newsweek: "It is both absolutely not what I thought it was going to be and infinitely better.

"Motherhood is like a rubber band ball, all those feelings, good and bad, wrapped around you tight and bouncing you in unexpected directions.

"They all live in the same space but can be peeled off and held singularly.

"I think maybe that was the point of my post: Motherhood is all these things jumbled and for some, certain rubber bands' are thicker or tighter but, in the end, we're all just trying to figure out what's in the center."

Despite other users questioning why Archer posted her video in the first place, her overall observation was "this is something we need to be talking about."

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This story was originally published July 4, 2024, 8:10 AM.