No Guide for This: Season One Wrap-Up

The Bump’s breakout podcast concludes its first season, revealing what our mothers never told us about the messy realities of modern parenthood

Today officially closes the chapter on season one of No Guide for This, The Bump‘s bluntly candid podcast partnership with Dear Media that’s become required listening for the anxiously procreating and ambivalently child-free alike. Led by Jen Hayes Lee (The Bump’s head of marketing and content) and Sasha Smith (senior brand development manager), the series has carved out territory in the parenting-media landscape by refusing to gloss over the uncomfortable questions that keep millennial adults up at night.

Accidental honesty from corporate parents

When I corralled the co-hosts for a chat between recording sessions, they were midway through a production marathon— “Two solos and two more tomorrow,” Smith counted off, still visibly energized by the conversations they’d been having.

Their dynamic mirrors the podcast’s whole premise: Hayes Lee represents the seasoned parent perspective with three sons at home, while Smith brings the questioning voice of someone still deciding if parenthood is right for her.

“Sasha and I are in two different life phases,” Hayes Lee explained. “She has a partner, she’s married and she does not yet have kids. And I am married with three kids, three sons at home. So between the two of us can share insights with each other about what it means and dispel some of the stigmas.”

The podcast grew from recognizing a gap in the conversation around parenthood. As Jen put it, “The Bump is people’s go-to resource for audiences that are either trying to conceive all the way up into the time their kids are around three years old… What we realized is the transition is something that people don’t talk about. We talk about the functional aspects of pregnancy and parenting, but what about the identity shift that happens?”

The generational divide in parenting talk

What’s most striking about No Guide for This is how it articulates the millennial-and-younger shift toward talking openly about reproduction and parenthood that previous generations treated as private burdens.

When I mentioned how our parents’ generation approached these topics differently, Smith immediately agreed: “That generation doesn’t talk about these things or the struggles that women go through. Now everyone’s starting to wake up. It’s okay to talk about those things or those stigmas that our parents’ generation just kept silent or struggled and didn’t say anything or didn’t ask for help.”

Hayes Lee added a perhaps relatable example: “Even knowing what’s normal and what’s not. Is it normal that you got this mucus plug? What is it? So it’s nice that we can get some of that out there, out into the open and just kind of keep it real.”

This openness extends to acknowledging the support systems that previous generations either didn’t have or didn’t discuss. “I think a lot of times parents and moms specifically didn’t think that they could ask for help or get help or have people that provide services like that that can really make the process a little bit easier,” Hayes Lee pointed out. “And there’s sort of this idea that you have to do everything on your own and soldier through it.”

She continued with what might be the most telling soundbite of the series’ ethos: “The more conversations you have, the more you learn about the fact, oh, tell me more about a doula and what a doula is supposed to help with. Oh, learning that someone else may have had a night nurse, what the hell is a night nurse? Why in the hell was I getting up every night on my own when there’s someone, like a night nurse that I could have considered for the process?”

The rapid fire round

Theme song for the podcast? “Bump Like This” by Kelly Rowland (their dream podcast guest).

Daily ritual that keeps you grounded? Smith confessed: “My skincare routine is mine, I think.” Not a complex regimen, she explained, but one she’s learned to savor. “I used to rush through it… but now I’m like, wait, put the cute little robe on and feel good.”

For Hayes Lee: “I do a five-mile hike every morning and it’s my non-negotiable.” Her podcasts of choice for her ritual? On Purpose with Jay Shetty and The Balanced Black Girl.

Holy grail beauty product? “The Elemis cleansing balm,” Smith revealed, noting she’d abandoned her beloved Dermalogica for it. Hayes Lee countered with the pink collagen jelly by Medicube: “I’m obsessed with it and just started using it.”

Last restaurant visited? Hayes Lee: “Girl & the Goat” in LA, which she found entirely different from the Chicago original: “They were playing hip hop music. It was massive.” Smith recounted accidentally finding Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles: “We got a little empanada. We got some pasta. Yeah, got a little bit of everything.”

The cultural shift behind the podcast

Perhaps the most important undercurrent of the podcast—and what makes it culturally significant beyond just parenting tips—is how it normalizes questioning the entire enterprise of parenthood itself. Smith and Hayes Lee’s different life stages create space for honest discussions about whether having children is right for everyone.

“The stigma of if you don’t have kids and what’s wrong with you or you’re a woman, you have to, now we have choice and everyone has different paths and avenues of maybe I want to be career woman or maybe I don’t want to get married,” Smith pointed out. “That too is like, wow, we can say that.”

Hayes Lee added the necessary addendum: “Or also maybe you can change your mind in five, 10 years.”

No Guide for This stands as a compelling document of our cultural moment—one where we’re collectively deciding that traditional parenting narratives no longer serve us, where the mystique around childbearing has given way to Instagram-friendly ovulation tracking apps, and where people are increasingly comfortable saying the previously unthinkable: that maybe, just maybe, parenting isn’t for everyone. And as all the best podcasts do, No Guide for This holds space for that ambivalence while still offering a roadmap for those who’ve already taken the leap.

The episodes you shouldn’t miss

If you haven’t been following along, here’s your crash course through the series’ essential episodes:

Episode 1: “Is Parenting For Me?”

The opener that asks the question many of us dance around at brunch but rarely tackle head-on. This is where Hayes Lee discovered Smith’s fertility journey in real-time—an unscripted moment that immediately differentiated this corporate podcast from the typical branded content.

Episode 2: “Getting Real About Fertility” with Whitney Port

The former reality star and host of With Whit brings her candid fertility struggles to the table, including pregnancy loss and her journey toward surrogacy. When discussing upcoming episodes, Hayes Lee told me, “We’re talking to Whitney Port about fertility and her motherhood journey, so that’ll be great.”

Episode 3: “How Not to Flip Out” with Heather Rae El Moussa

The Selling Sunset star discusses her experience with pregnancy, filming while expecting, and navigating a blended family. During our interview, Smith mentioned her interest in guests who became mothers later in life: “That’s just stuff I want to know. How did it go? Is it easy? And I think a lot of women are having kids later in life, so it’s just kind of more common.”

Episode 6: “Finding Your Rhythm in Motherhood” with Melanie Fiona

The Grammy-winning artist discusses juggling her creative career with two kids in what became one of the more substantive conversations about the myth of “having it all.” Hayes Lee was particularly excited about this episode: “We had a great chat with Melanie Fiona yesterday, just about the realities of having two kids and being in a house where you’ve got two parents who are hustling, they’re both in the music business and they’re in a season where they’re literally about, they’re at the precipice of the next stage of their careers. So just how they manage all of that while raising two young kids.”

Episode 7: “Yes, I’m Judging”

A host-only episode that dives into the pre-parent judgments we all silently harbor (“I would NEVER let my child watch that much TV”) and how quickly those certainties evaporate once reality hits.

Episode 8: “How to Keep It Hot” with Caroline Baudino

Style influencer Caroline Baudino addresses the unglamorous reality of postpartum body image and the struggle to reclaim your identity beyond “mom.” Smith enthusiastically mentioned their conversation during our interview: “Even today with Caroline, that was really fun to hear her perspective on having kids later.”