Learn about the concept of matrescence, why it matters as you build your village, and find resources to support you through your unique motherhood journey.

Matrescence was first coined by Dana Raphael, Ph.D. in the ‘70s.

She modeled the term after the well-known concept of adolescence, when a person transitions from child to adult, so similarly, matrescence reflects a woman’s transition from maiden to mother.

The concept of adolescence was first formally recognized in the 1900s and it is now a term synonymously associated with the teenage years. Matrescence is slowly but surely becoming better known and hopefully 50 years from now, when the term becomes the same age as the term adolescence is now (about 120 years old), matrescence too becomes synonymous with motherhood.

Currently, the term matrescence is not listed in dictionaries and you will still see a squiggly line to indicate a misspelling when you type the word. Despite this lack of widespread acknowledgement of the term, it is a very real and important concept. And, you will find conflicting information defining the length of time that matrescence spans.

Some argue that matrescence begins from the moment a woman starts to consider becoming a mother, and studies have in fact shown that a woman’s brain already begins to transform as they consider becoming a mother. You will see some sources state it is the first 1-3 years after a woman becomes a mother and that a woman experiences a matrescence for each child that they have including if the child is born via surrogate or adopted. And, you will get other sources that say that matrescence is ever evolving and as a result never ends.

What is generally agreed upon, is that matrescence is the transitional time where a woman’s biological, psychological, social, and spiritual being is transformed due to being a mother.

A consistent and clear definition of the term matrescence would be nice, but if there’s anything true about motherhood it is that it is literally and figuratively messy and incredibly complex, and the evolving definition of this term reflects this complexity.

Modern motherhood is different than even 30 years ago when many of the women who are now having their own children were born. The explosion of having information at our fingertips due to the internet, as well as the comparative and addictive nature of social media, has created a devastating pressure on mothers to mother in a certain way. There are many ways to do something well and mothering is no different. Each mother should be empowered to make choices that make sense for their family regardless of what anyone else may be doing. And yet, modern mothers often feel isolated and insufficient as they mother—like they are doing it “wrong.”

The term matrescence matters because it disrupts the notion that there is one way to mother. The motherhood journey can be universal in some respects, but it is also incredibly personal, specific, and unique to every individual. The concept of matrescence empowers mothers to take ownership over their story and live aligned with values they define themselves instead of what society has defined for them. Additionally, and of equal importance, matrescence creates an opportunity to be in community with other mothers and as a result combat the isolation and inadequacy that mothers feel. While each mother is on their own unique journey, by mothering together mothers help empower one another—improving the lives of not only each other, but entire families as a result.