Perinatal · Identity
Matrescence Identity Worksheet
The identity restructuring of becoming a parent
Matrescence — the term Dana Raphael coined and Aurélie Athan revived — names the identity restructuring that happens when a person becomes a mother/parent. It's developmental, not pathological. But it grieves.
What I'm grieving from before
What I'm becoming that's new
What I want to carry forward from pre-parent me
What I'm still figuring out
Ambivalence is normal
Loving your child and grieving your old life are not opposites. They're the shape of matrescence.