matrescence
English
Etymology
Ultimately from Latin mātrēscēns, mātrēscō (“I become a mother”).
Noun
matrescence (uncountable)
- 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, ...
- 2013, Denis Walsh, Soo Downe, Intrapartum Care, John Wiley & Sons (→ISBN), page 2003:
Related terms
- matrescent
See also
- patrescence, patrescent
Further reading
- 1983, Judith Lauwers, Counseling the Nursing Mother: A Reference Handbook for Health Care Providers and Lay Counselors: "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 […] "
- 2020, Amy Taylor-Kabbaz, Mama Rising: Discovering the New You Through Motherhood, Hay House, Inc (→ISBN): "Matrescence is the emergence of a new identity—'the mother'— while trying to comprehend what happened to the old identity —'the woman'."