When a Mother is HELD, a community is healed.
Matrescence is the transition from Woman to Mother.
Matrescence was first coined by American Medical Anthropologist, Dana Raphael in 1973.
Dr Aurelie Athan, a clinical psychologist revived the term as she shares as the working definition of Matrescence:
“The process of becoming a Mother is a developmental passage where a Woman transitions through pre-conception, pregnancy and birth, surrogacy or adoption, to the postnatal period and beyond...
Matrescence is individual, recurs with each child, and may arguably last a lifetime!”
The work of Dr Athan helps put this transformational period into perspective: matrescence, like adolescence. Motherhood is a rite of passage, similar to what adolescence is for a child who is transitioning to adulthood.” - Elise Clement, Holistic Psychotherapist.
Dana Raphael nursing one of her sons in the mid-1950s. Dana was a leading advocate for breast-feeding and began an anthropological quest that would end up spanning decades: “Why was breast-feeding more successful in some cultures than in others?”
Dr Aurelie Athan is a Reproductive Psychologist and research Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York specializing in maternal mental health while part of her research focuses on Matrescence.
WHAT IS MATRESCENCE?
The becoming of a Mother does not happen overnight, this transition has a name, it is called, “MATRESCENCE.”
MATRESCENCE effects a Mother on many levels:
• Emotional
• Physical
• Economical
• Social
• Spiritual
“What I see are too many women who go through their own rebirth into motherhood, who fall through the cracks, left, not knowing who they are anymore, feeling isolated and lost, thinking they need to re-invent themselves to be seen, heard and loved.”
“What we don’t realise is that our loss of identity is nothing to do with anything external to us. Who we truly are starts from within.”
“You are a true inspiration to many! You are and will continue to impact many lives by sharing your knowledge and journey. Thank you for all you do”
— TESTIMONIAL
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE - FORTNIGHTLY EXPLORATION
EXPERIENCE THE WORDS OF JEN V IN A FORTNIGHTLY 4 TO 6 MINUTE READ, FOR FREE, AS SHE COMPILES STORIES, PHOTOS AND EXPERIENCES OF HER OWN JOURNEY SHARING THE RELEVANCE OF HOW THESE LEARNINGS CAN HELP AND GUIDE YOU IN YOUR LIFE.