Welcome to Empowering Motherhood & what is matresence?

What is Matresence?

This is the 1st in a series of weekly blogs we will be sharing to introduce you to Empowering Motherhood, a pioneering and beneficial service available only to mums. This is the online village we've all been longing for and we are very excited to launch in the new year. Throughout December we will be inviting people to join us on December 30th and January 6th, for our FREE live online discovery circle with Q & A opportunity. Leading up to the discovery circle, these blogs will introduce you to our philosophy and bring awareness and education on the subject of Motherhood. 

Motherhood is an extraordinary journey, one that completely alters your entire universe, from the mundane every daily life right through to the very core of your sense of self. In our culture motherhood is often depicted as joyful and fulfilling, yet what most women don’t know, until they become mothers, is that the cultural stereotypical depiction of motherhood is fake!

The truth is that the transition from woman to mother and beyond, involves complex emotions and psychological challenges which are heavily influenced by family, society and culture. In western culture, motherhood myths have constructed impossible standards which drip into the psyche of women as they grow up. Then, when women become mothers and realise it is impossible to be “perfect” they feel mum guilt, maternal ambivalence or worse. Mothers experiencing guilt are often silenced by shame and that silencing prevents culture from learning the reality of motherhood, which maintains the false narratives.

It’s really important to understand two things,

• Negative narratives have a negative impact on a woman’s sense of self as she integrates her new maternal identity.
• Cultural narratives about motherhood shape the way society view and ultimately support mothers.

What society really needs is a realistic perspective, or normal motherhood narrative, which would help prepare and empower, not only women who become mothers, but also support institutions involved in motherhood, and, people in general, be more effective in how they support mothers. That’s where the term Matrescence comes in.

This term Matrescence explains that passing from woman to mother is a similar right of passage to adolescence. Framing the journey in this way helps us take the perspective of the woman and opens society to the notion of how hard it is for her. Previously motherhood narratives have not been so concerned with the woman as an individual, but Matrescence as a framework brings empathy. Previously in motherhood narratives the woman’s needs have been overlooked, drowned out by the child's and families. Then if a mother was deemed to be struggling with the mundane tasks and the demands of children they would be seen to have post natal depression. But, with the emergence of this new perspective in the term Matrescence things are changing. Even in psychiatry calls are being made to explore how the old views have led to huge disempowerments and over prescriptions for brain altering medications.
Through normalising and understanding how hard the journey is for women to,

• reshape their entire sense of self
• take on so much responsibility
• work with a complete lack of awareness of their needs in society
• integrate the reality of motherhood compared to what they expected
•  face the challenges of our time
• and still nurture and care for constantly changing children;

society can finally see that becoming a mother is so much more than giving birth. With this term, Matrescence we see becoming and being a mother is A LOT for women to go through. This new perspective leads to the realisation that women who are also mothers, need more from our culture.

In fact we need a complete overhaul of all services and education which has anything to do with motherhood. Seems like a long shot, but we can change things. Starting with the way we hold ourselves and each other as mothers.

That’s where Empowering Motherhood can help. Imagine being a part of a community to express and share the truth, without judgement. Imagine supportive prompts to remind you of how well you are doing. Imagine a routine of nurturing healing practices. Supporting you to regulate, prepare and thrive as a mother.

Join the free information session on December 30th or Jan 6th. Select the Discover Empowering Motherhood class on the date you wish to join us HERE

The full Empowering Motherhood experience will be launching in January 2025 ✨