A new way to think about the transition to motherhood
A couple of years ago I created a fourth trimester workshop with the sole purpose of better preparing women for their motherhood and when I recently stumbled on this TED talk I just knew I had to share it with you. Presented by Alexandra Sacks, a Reproductive Psychiatrist who is widely recognised as the leading clinical expert on matrescence: the developmental transition into motherhood.
Like adolescence, matrescence describes a developmental transition that is hormonal, physical and emotional. The term was first coined over 50 years ago in the 1970's by medical anthropologist Dana Raphael. Alexandra Sacks has a hope, it is here hope that every mother and everywomen who wants to become a mother and everyone who loves them will start sharing their matrescence stories everywhere - in their homes, in cafes and in the "modern day fire-pit of social media" so that mothers can feel less alone, less stigmatised and reduce the rates of postpartum depression with our and I'm with her.
"When a baby is born, so is a mother -- but the natural [and sometimes unsteady] process of transition to motherhood is often silenced by shame or misdiagnosed as postpartum depression. In this quick, informative talk, reproductive psychiatrist Alexandra Sacks breaks down the emotional tug-of-war of becoming a new mother and shares a term that could help describe it: matrescence". Enjoy this short [but impactful] six minute video below.
Sources: Medium, You Tube