Mary Hawkes is a postgraduate student in the Centre for Neuroendocrinology at the University of Otago funded by a Neurological Foundation scholarship for her research into maternal anxiety. Her research focuses on developing new models for this still mysterious condition, to shine a light on how maternal behaviour is affected by maternal anxiety. She will be introducing how animal models help us to understand neurological conditions arising from one of the most tumultuous and beautiful events in our lives – the arrival of a new baby into the world.