Amy Schumer’s EXPECTING AMY Is The Honesty All Moms Need Right Now (Interview)

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Amy Schumer is not only hilarious, but she’s honest about motherhood in so many ways that moms need right now in her new HBO MAX series, EXPECTING AMY.

Yesterday I had a really hard morning and most of it was because I got overwhelmed with balancing my work that needed to be done with Blake (she is the neediest toddler EVER). And because I always try to be honest with you guys, I’ve also been off my anti-anxiety meds for 3 weeks now and thought I was doing great, but yesterday everything came crashing down. Don’t worry: I’m picking up a new prescription tomorrow. Thankfully, miss sassy pants went to her babysitter in the afternoon while I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Schumer, who I greatly admire. Needless to say, my day turned around.

Not only is she hilarious, but Amy is raw, outspoken, and to me, she’s everything that moms need right now. She has a new documentary that is 3 episodes long on HBO MAX called, EXPECTING AMY, and I promise that you will devour every second of it.

Credit HBO MAX

Amy Schumer’s EXPECTING AMY Is The Honesty All Moms Need Right Now (Interview)

Pregnancy and motherhood are both such layered experiences for moms. Our society as a whole is really just starting to scratch the surface with glimpses as to how tough these things really are. Our bodies are completely ripped apart, sewn back together, and we’re expected to put a smile on our faces even though we’re breaking down in tears every time we have to pee. And that’s just the first few days of postpartum recovery.

In the first episode of EXPECTING AMY, there was a moment where she was going through her diagnoses of Hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe, almost nonstop vomiting disorder that happens to some women during pregnancy (again, something else not talked about enough), where she was asked if she resented that she was pregnant and experiencing all this while she was preparing so intensely for her Netflix special.

Her response was a very simple, “I don’t resent being pregnant, I resent how much women are expected to just suck it up.”

There’s so much truth within that response.

No one knows what the fuck we’re going through because we put on our only maternity dress that we feel somewhat cute in and keep pushing forward. Because THIS is what society tells us to do.

So whenever it was my turn to ask Amy a question, I couldn’t help but reflect on this moment and how it overwhelmed me with emotion. I asked her, based on that moment if there were other things that she wishes the world talked more about when it came to pregnancy and motherhood.

She said:

“Not to be such a downer, but what I’m learning about how women of color are treated and the maternal death rates for women of color and indigenous women…women in general just aren’t listened to about pain and being diagnosed with hyperemesis and how there is not a lot of research about that. We’re the ones bringing life into this world, we shouldn’t have to beg for these basic rights.”

Boom.

I’m going to share a few more candid quotes below from Amy that really stood out to me below, and I’m also writing another article for Moms.com where I will be sharing even more.

My main takeaway: I’m starting to experience this overwhelming feeling that I haven’t been as authentic with you all as I can be about a lot of things that because of that I’m doing you all a disservice. Between speaking with Amy, watching the documentary, and some conversations with my husband and friends, I feel a pull inside of me to be more candid with my community. So things are going to change around these parts for the better!

When was a moment you felt really empowered?

After I gave birth when I was yelling ‘men can’t do shit’ that was the moment where it was like “omg I just carried a baby and they essentially just had to slice open my fupa and wrap him out.’ Women are stronger than I realized.

What do you wish people would talk about more with marriage and childbirth?

“A lot of my friends are single, but the ones who have partners have a tendency to act like everything is always fine. When I hang out with the girls I grew up with, we get into it and update each other on our husbands. I just think we should be more open about what’s going on within our relationships.

I wanted to share what we did so that people can understand it’s not perfect all of the time.

I hope we’re going to make it, but it’s really hard. My parents split when I was 9 so marriage is stranger.