matrescence

English

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin mātrēscēns, mātrēscō (“I become a mother”).

Noun

matrescence (uncountable)

1. The process of becoming (and coming to inhabit the role of) a mother.
   • 2013, Denis Walsh, Soo Downe, Intrapartum Care, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 2003:

     Thomas writes of matrescence as spiritual formation drawing analogies with the Judaeo-Christian tradition.

   • 2017, Denis Walsh, Sheila Kitzinger, Norman Ellis, Improving Maternity Services: The Epidemiologically Based Needs Assessment Reviews, Vol 2, CRC Press, →ISBN:

     Matrescence as a distinctive marker of birth centre care is all about fostering the 'becoming mother' journey.

   • 2020, Susan Hogan, Therapeutic Arts in Pregnancy, Birth and New Parenthood, Routledge, →ISBN:

     More recently, matrescence has re-entered the contemporary conversation through Alexandra Sacks, a reproductive psychiatrist and researcher, ...

   • 2021, Patricia Ladis, The Wise Woman's Guide to Your Healthiest Pregnancy and Birth: From Preconception to Postpartum, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

     We're here specifically to prepare you for these changes, so that you can take on matrescence as a wise woman. We want you to be calm and excited, ...

Related terms

• matrescent

See also

• patrescence, patrescent

Further reading

• Judith Lauwers (1983) “Dana Raphael refers to the first months following a baby's birth as a period of matrescence. Just as adolescence means "becoming an adult," matrescence means "becoming a mother." Like adolescence, matrescence is a time of conflict […] ”, in Counseling the Nursing Mother: A Reference Handbook for Health Care Providers and Lay Counselors
• Amy Taylor-Kabbaz (2020) “Matrescence is the emergence of a new identity—'the mother'— while trying to comprehend what happened to the old identity —'the woman'.”, in Mama Rising: Discovering the New You Through Motherhood, Hay House, Inc, →ISBN