Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood

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Matrescence took me on a journey of reminescence through my own pregnancies and early years of motherhood, eliciting wry recognition, surprise at new evidence and insight, and gratitude for a work that really sees what it is to mother Clare Chambers Wow. "Matrescence" is essential reading for - well, everyone. Parenting - especially motherhood - and care in general are so underrated and misunderstood socially that those on the outside are not able to see their immense value and all the sacrifices they require, and those within feel like they are failing if they don't revel in all aspects of parenthood or care or struggle at times. Amazing book - one of the first books I’ve read that contains really convincing accounts of pregnancy and early motherhood written by someone who gets it. Science based, no woo (rare in a pregnancy/birth book), straightforward and full of the reality of pregnancy, birth and small children. It doesn’t shy away from the brutality of birth, realities of infant feeding or childcare. In this important and ground-breaking, deeply personal investigation, Jones writes of the emerging concept of “matrescence”–the wholeness of becoming a mother.

Matrescence, Lucy Jones captures how hard it is to be a In Matrescence, Lucy Jones captures how hard it is to be a

A radical new examination of the transition into motherhood and how it affects the mind, brain and body A vital, hopeful book ... to read Matrescence is to emerge chastened and ready for change -- Marianne Levy ― i Paper If you are a mom. If you want to be a mom. If you have a mom. If you want to support a mom. If you don’t mind a little non-fiction. Give this book some of your time. This book will stay with me more than any other I’ve ever read. And not just because I am in matrescence but because I have a mother, I know many mothers, and I could have been a much better friend and supporter if I would have been taught this stuff 10 years ago. Athan & Reel argue that there is little interest or up-take of research in the psychology of mothers or maternal development per se. They call for a study of ‘matrescence’, to explore women’s lived experience of becoming and being mothers, to challenge the pathologisation of women’s ‘mixed feelings’ about mothering, and to normalise more complex and varied experiences of motherhood than just fulfilment or illness narratives enable. - JANE CALAGHAN, FEMINISM & PSYCHOLOGY (2015)What helped you navigate the first year of motherhood? Send us a note at [email protected] . A producer may be in touch with you. Beautiful and creative ... Jones is a pioneer ... she skilfully elucidates the monumental shifts motherhood brings ... I found myself inwardly cheering -- Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett ― Guardian Stern DN, Bruschweiler-Stern N, Freeland A. The birth of a mother: How the motherhood experience changes you forever. New York: Basic Books; 1998.

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The transition to fatherhood is also an identity shift. However, matrescence—as the quoted authors point out—is a psycho-neuro-hormonal-biological-social event that is a unique life experience of women. It is the shift from being a woman to being someone’s mother. In a humanistic perspective, that is at once a beautiful and extraordinary accomplishment. The anthropologist author Dana Raphael and the psychiatrist authors suggest there is more happening: pregnancy and birth experiences change a person, a bit like an adolescent emerging from that period is a somewhat different person. As psychiatrist Daniel Stern puts it: “a mother is born.” We must give a nod to Dr. Raphael. She coined the term “matrescence” and by doing so gave us the word to imagine a new, unexplored territory. Motherhood, like adolescence, is a stage of human physical, psychological, social, and spiritual development. Unfortunately, women’s experiences of this transition remain one of most under-developed areas of scholarship and training. Each year I revive “matrescence” in my classroom to awaken students and enlarge their scope of understanding from a simple focus on the child. Mothers may form the cornerstone of our most precious theories, yet the process of becoming a mother has not been examined sufficiently despite the fact that we all, every living being, are brought forth by one. There also remains a stronghold of maternal psychopathology and crisis as the core area of interest, with fewer formulations mapping out both the costs and benefits of the psychological work that is undergone. Understanding the birth of a mother can hopefully allow a more holistic view of this adaptation and with it new fields of study can be born. The creation of more research laboratories and coursework such as my own on Maternal Psychology and Reproductive Mental Health and Wellbeing, while at their infancy, can help the next generation of scholars and practitioners to get started. - NEW YORK TIMES, COMMENTS (2017)

The newest emerging theory,Reproductive Identity,debutedin the June 2020 Special issue of the American Psychologist — Rethinking Adult Development: New Ideas for New Times. In my expanded definition, the process of becoming a mother or matrescence, the term first coined by Dana Raphael, Ph.D. (1973) and which I later built upon, is a developmental passage where a woman transitions through pre-conception, pregnancy and birth, surrogacy or adoption, to the postnatal period and beyond.The exact length of matrescence is individual, recurs with each child, and may arguably last a lifetime! The scope of the changes encompasses multiple domains --bio-psycho-social-political-spiritual-- and can be likened to the developmental push of adolescence. Increased attention to mothers has spurred new findings,from neuroscience to economics, and supports the rationale for a new field of study known as matrescence.Such an arena would allow the roundtable of specialists to come together and advance our understanding of this life passage.” Purchasing a book may earn the NS a commission from Bookshop.org, who support independent bookshops