I define matrescence as a female identity shift evoked from the potential to mother or become a mother.

As science evolves so has the possibilities for the potential ways people can become parents:  egg freezing, egg donating, embryo creation, surrogacy, adoption, IVF; each of these technologies has added new ways to physically, biochemically, emotionally, and spiritually engage in the identity expansion of matrescence. 

Matrescence is a term coined by anthropologist Dana Raphael in the 1970s to describe the emotional, psychological, social, and hormonal transition a woman undergoes as she becomes a mother. Classically, matrescence is defined as beginning during the perinatal period or the third trimester, and it extends well beyond it. 

As a linguist, I’m interested in how the word matrescence offers a narrative whereby the woman is the protagonist. This narrative lives in parallel to our notions of motherhood, where the baby is the protagonist, and at best the mother is the antagonist. 

By viewing this phase of life as a rites of passage, regardless of whether you decide to pursue having a baby, there is a bevy of transformation to explore in this season of life. 

Whether you’re betwixt & between feeling ready to embark on the passage of motherhood, actively aspiring to birth a new life, or beginning to add mother to your roles, I see you as being in your matrescence arc, a transformational time because whether there is a baby or not, your identity is expanding. 

I’d love to accompany you amidst the decision points, the changes and the questions, so that you can frame this time as a threshold of expansion.