The essence of Matrescence.

A working reference on the questions most mothers face in the weeks before their return, answered in full paragraphs rather than reassuring platitudes.

What nobody is saying out loud.

84% of mothers conceal their real struggles when asked how they are doing. If you searched this question, you are part of that 84%. Here is why that number matters, and what it tells us about what you are actually going through.

Spoiler: you already have. Here is what comes next.

If you searched this question, the search itself is the answer. You have not lost yourself. You are in the middle of the most significant identity transformation of your life, and nobody told you it was coming.

There is a word for what is happening to you. You probably already know it. There is also a word for what is happening to him. And if nobody has told you that word yet, it might explain quite a lot.

You’ve accepted the overwhelm, the guilt, the impossible pull between your baby and your career, as just how motherhood is. But what if everything you’ve been handed as “normal” about matrescence (the transformation of becoming a mother) is actually the greatest cultural failure of our time?

Before we can talk about why breastfeeding is hard, we need to talk about who made it that way and why.

Someone named what you are going through fifty years ago. Here is the story of who she was, what she found, why the world ignored it, and the extraordinary chain of events that finally brought it back.

The thoughts of “OMG this is so hard, I wish I had my old life back” AND “but I wouldn’t change this for anything and I love my baby so much” are battling it out within you, leaving you exhausted, guilty and feeling like you will never find your peace. I get it.
These conflicting emotions after giving birth to your baby are an integral part of becoming a mother and you are not alone in experiencing them.
Here is what you need to know about early motherhood.

The hormones. The brain. The mood swings that have a name. The identity shift that has a reason. Everything the antenatal class forgot to mention. Explained properly, finally.

Do butterflies remember being caterpillars? Scientists asked. The answer is extraordinary, and it changes how you understand what is happening to you.

Matrescence, postpartum brain fog, mum brain, whatever you call it. Here’s the science behind what’s really happening when you lose the words. And why it means you’re not broken. You’re becoming.

What is the name for the transformation a woman goes through when she becomes a mother?

Is mum brain / postpartum brain fog actually real?

How long does postpartum brain fog last?

What is the ‘goo stage’ of motherhood?

Why do I keep losing words after having a baby?
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