Mummafication
Brodie Mattner
When you become a mother, the identity shift is colossal, but so is the… silence. There’s talk of the lack of sleep, the challenges of breastfeeding, how tired you'll be. But no one warns you about the hormonal, mental and physical impacts of motherhood. How you might not recognise yourself. How vulnerable you can feel. The transformation you will undergo. The words are hard to find. It has a name, Matrescence, and we need to talk about it. After I gave birth to our first baby, I felt such a mix of emotions in terms of who I was. No one had warned me. Women around me have asked "when do I go back to myself?" They’ve expressed a fear of losing themselves after they give birth. They’ve felt lonely. Underprepared. Even crazy. They’re not. But where’s the discussion about this intense transition? The new version of yourself you have to uncover while navigating parenthood for the first time? How do you keep your relationships intact when there