Health Update: Health Update: What is matrescence? Moms feel it, and want it in the dictionary – What Experts Say– What Experts Say.
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Ask a new mom when was the last time her baby ate, and how many ounces, and she’ll tell you without a moment’s hesitation. The same goes for the last time her baby slept, cried, burped or smiled.
Ask her when was the last time she did any of those things herself, and she’ll have no idea.
Plenty of women laugh it off and call it “mom brain.” And it is, experts say. But it’s also much more than that.
When women become mothers, their brains change, going through the same pruning process as their brains did during puberty, said Ashton Scherrer, a psychologist in Indiana. It’s called “matrescence” (think: the adult version of adolescence), and while it can feel isolating and scary for some women, it’s completely normal − and some even believe it’s a superpower of sorts.
“Matrescence is literally the process of becoming a mother. It is the physical, psychological, emotional and social transformation a woman goes through when they become a mom,” said Michelle Battersby, president of Peanut, a social networking app for moms. “And it is also the most profound neurological change an adult human brain will ever go through.”
Dads, non-birthing parents and adoptive parents go through matrescence, too, Scherrer said. For fathers, the term is “patrescence.” Non-birthing parents might feel matrescence to a lesser degree, she said, but it’s still there.
“We’re learning how to engage with children, and we’re learning what their cries mean,” Scherrer said. “And the instinctual part of it is the wanting to care for the next generation.”
Where’s the line between mom brain and postpartum depression?
Like adolescence, people going through matrescence might suffer from self-esteem issues or feel like they don’t know themselves anymore. It’s understandably an emotional time, Scherrer said, but people don’t often talk about it.
“Postpartum depression can’t be the only way women talk about the emotional ramifications of motherhood,” said Jess Ringgenberg, cofounder and managing partner of the workforce strategy company ELIXR Solutions.
“‘Mom brain’ is not this foggy-headed, forgetful woman,” she said. The changes in a new mother’s brain lead to enhanced executive functioning, decision making, innovation and emotional intelligence, she said, which should be celebrated. “It is a supercharged brain.”
Battersby, too, emphasized that matrescence and “mom brain” is not a defect. “This isn’t a condition. This is actually your brain optimizing itself to make you the best mom that you can be.”
During matrescence, parents’ brains shed nonhelpful information to make room for new pathways that help them take care of their baby. For a lot of new parents, that means they can’t really think about anything else.
It’s normal for moms to be tearful or feel a lack of connection with their baby at first, Scherrer said. Those feelings are often described as “baby blues.” It’s also normal to be afraid of dropping their baby. But sometimes those feelings or worries cross over into postpartum depression or anxiety, which can be dangerous for mothers and babies.
Scherrer said she starts to worry when a new mom won’t let anyone else touch the baby, when they won’t take their baby to the grocery store for fear of them contracting a very rare disease or when they have thoughts of harming themselves or the baby.
Getting ‘matrescence’ in the dictionary
Even though all parents go through matrescence, a recent Peanut survey found 67% of mothers have never heard the term. Battersby wants to change that.
“I think it’s a reflection of where society places mothers,” Battersby said.
“Matrescence” was coined in 1973 by anthropologist Dana Raphael, the same woman who coined the term “doula.”
“It’s interesting that ‘doula’ made it and ‘matrescence’ didn’t, when doulas aren’t something every mother accesses or can access, but matrescence is something every mother goes through,” Battersby said.
Peanut recently partnered with child care brand Tommee Tippee on a campaign to get “matrescence” in the dictionary. It kicked off in late February with an ad in the New York Times.
Battersby has seen how in learning about matrescence, mothers feel more seen and understood, and give themselves more grace.
“Matrescence is the language that women desperately need,” Ringgenberg said.
Madeline Mitchell’s role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
Reach Madeline at memitchell@usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_ on X.