The Matrescence Project

Before completing a mindful parenting course, Nina thought mindfulness and meditation were a bit "woo woo" - and if you're a bit the same, then you need to press play and listen to this conversation! Mindfulness doesn’t have to mean long periods of quiet, stillness or hours of meditation. In this conversation, host Zana and Nina—a mum of three, certified mindful parenting coach and Head and Heart...

Zana welcomes back Katerina Annels (lactation consultant and osteopath with 20 years experience and a clinical focus on pelvic health and postpartum care) for a deeper conversation about matrescence, the huge shift into motherhood. Matrescence is as big a transition as adolescence, but it gets very little acknowledgement or support. Together they talk about what changes in the brain, body and iden...

In this episode of Emerging in Motherhood: Matrescence, Zana welcomes Katerina Annels — an osteopath, trained lactation consultant and creator of the Nurture Online 7 Sisters program — for a thoughtful conversation about matrescence, postpartum care, maternal wellbeing and why every mother deserves a village. Katerina shares how her own experiences, including pregnancy loss and becoming a mother,...

Motherhood doesn’t mean “bouncing back” to who you were before. It can reshape your identity, values, relationships, career, and sense of self - yet many women enter pregnancy with almost no preparation for the emotional transformation ahead. Zana and her guest explore what happens when motherhood collides with emotionally demanding work, invisible mental load, and the pressure to support everyone...

When You Become a Mother, You’re Born Too You can prepare for birth, baby’s arrival, and the endless newborn essentials, but how do you prepare for the birth of you? If motherhood has left you anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, or wondering why nobody warned you about this transformation, this conversation is for you. I speak with Emma from Empower Matrescence, a perinatal mental health nurse, bi...

Have you been planning your return to work after motherhood, but now feel a little lost about how to actually make it happen? Perhaps you had the itch to return to work, only to discover that when you did, something didn't quite fit anymore. Or maybe you're still itching to return to your career, but aren't sure what that should look like now that you're a mother. Whatever your relationship with w...

Are you on maternity leave or planning your return to work transition? Have you recently returned but feel different, changed, or like you are not performing in the same way?  According to Mothered Magazine’s editor-in-chief, TEDx speaker, author and award-winning workplace culture innovator, Alexa Starks, mums often do feel a difference in their performance - but for the better. If you need the e...

Emily joins me from Canada to share her deeply honest journey through an unexpected path into motherhood. Together, we explore matrescence through multiple lenses—from the cultural and societal expectations placed on mothers to the deeply personal pressure so many women carry to become the elusive "good mother." With remarkable vulnerability, Emily reflects on how motherhood challenged the identit...

We prepare women for labour. We prepare them to feed a baby. We prepare them to keep a tiny human alive. But very few of us are prepared for what happens to us. In this bonus episode, I explore why understanding matrescence—the profound physical, emotional, psychological and social transition into motherhood—isn't simply empowering. It can be preventative. When mothers have language for what they'...

How does a woman navigate matrescence when she still feels she is emerging from adolescence into adulthood herself? Meet Olivia: A woman who speaks of exactly this, but with a few extra difficulties. In her first six months of motherhood, Olivia experienced domestic violence and a relationship breakdown. But after feeling lost in the process of becoming a mother, after feeling like motherhood ecli...

Prepare yourself for a truly raw and honest conversation as Rhi opens up about her experience, with absolutely zero sugarcoating. From an unplanned pregnancy she wasn't sure she could continue, to making a decision and throwing herself into research and preparation. Rhi explains how she feels she managed to ensure a positive postpartum season by setting herself up and the steps she took to do so....

What if the changes you're experiencing in motherhood aren't a sign that you're "losing yourself"—but evidence that your brain is adapting to one of life's biggest transitions? In this jam-packed conversation, I'm joined by Dr. Renee White—doula, biochemist, founder of I Fill Your Cup, and host of The Science of Motherhood Podcast—to unpack the fascinating science behind matrescence. Together, we...

Cass describes her former self as "fiercely independent". A woman who was not tied down by anyone or anything, who loved to travel, thrived on winning in the boardroom and climbed the corporate ladder. Cass shares how meeting her soul mate, her now husband, began to soften her, and how this changed her perspective on bringing children into the world. But Cass's introduction to motherhood was met w...

Episode 3: My Matrescence Story - Zana's Personal Journey In this deeply personal episode, host Zana sets aside the research and theory to share her own lived experience of matrescence — the profound transformation a woman undergoes when she becomes a mother. Zana paints a vivid picture of who she was before children: a psychology graduate raised to value independence and career ambition, living a...

Motherhood changes women deeply — neurologically, psychologically, emotionally, and socially — yet so few of us are ever taught to expect it. In this episode of The Matrescence Project, I explore the science behind matrescence and the hidden transformation that takes place when a woman becomes a mother. I unpack the wider societal consequences of continuing to undervalue this season of life, and w...

In this introductory episode of The Matrescence Project, we explore what “matrescence” really means and why it’s so important to bring this term into our everyday language. I'll share the intention behind this project, and what we hope to build over time—a space that supports, informs, and validates the experience of becoming a mother. Whether you’re a new mum, a seasoned mum, or someone yet to st...