Mother Becoming:

Reflections and Scholarship on Matrescence

Jessie Harrold

• Publisher: Demeter Press
• eBook ISBN:
  9781772585780
• Year: 2026

Mother Becoming explores the emerging concept of matrescence, the word used to describe the transition to motherhood. Cultivating a better understanding of matrescence is imperative for the wellbeing of mothers. There is often little acknowledgement of this tremendously life-changing experience, and the vast majority of support proffered during this tender time is directed toward the wellbeing of the baby. But becoming a mother is rife with upheaval and disorientation, and mothers must renegotiate their identities, relationships and values while simultaneously contending with the immense learning curve of motherwork. Through scholarship and storytelling alike, Mother Becoming unearths the multidimensional, kaleidoscopic nature of matrescence while also highlighting research, policy and practice recommendations to better support mothers. Mother Becoming is a wise companion for mothers and a practical guide for the professionals, communities and family members who support them.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part I
• Mammal Mother
• Chapter 1 Allowance of the Breech: Interruption in Matrescence
• Mothering in Real Time
• Chapter 2 The Expectations of Expecting: An Autoethnographic Account of Matrescence
• Chapter 3 From the Bardos of Becoming Mother
• You Okay, Mama?
• Chapter 4 The Birth (and Death) of a Mother: A Story of Matrescence and Motherloss
• Chapter 5 A Whisper of a Loss
• Chapter 6 Mothering in The Crucible: The Intersection of Chronic Pain and Matrescence
• Milky Ways
• Chapter 7 An Existential Journey: World Travelling to M/Otherland
• Chapter 8 The Sacred Mundane: Mothering as Embodied Spiritual Technology
• Part II
• Chapter 9 Rooted in Matrescence: A Garden Story in Self-Mothering
• Chapter 10 Finding Coherence in Ambivalence: Helping Mothers to Reconcile Conflicting Feelings about Their Changed Identity in Matrescence
• Chapter 11 Differentiating Between PMADs and Matrescence: A Critical Examination of Maternal Development and Its Pathological Interpretations
• Chapter 12 Mapping Matrescence: Toward a Developmental Model of the Transition to Motherhood
• Chapter 13 Culturally Responsive Matrescence Care for Black Mothers
• Chapter 14 Full Circle: Circles of Care as a Way to Honour Matrescence
• Chapter 15 Maternal Wellness at Work: A Call for Workplace Policies and Practices Supporting Matrescence
• Chapter 16 Reimagining Maternity Care: A Matrescence-Centred Framework
• Notes on Contributors
• Cover Artist Statement
• Deepest appreciation to Demeter’s monthly Donors