Matrescence: definition, signs and symptoms
By Lise Lafaurie Health reporter for Passeport santé
6/11/2024
Matrescence is a contraction of the words “maternity” and “adolescence”. The term is used to describe difficulties in the development of maternal feelings.
Indeed, if the birth of a child is also the birth of a mother, it’s also the birth of a mother, who suddenly changes from the status of a woman to that of a mother. This transition can be quite simple and natural, or it can be a real upheaval, both biologically and psychologically.
What are the symptoms of matrescence? How can I get through this stage without feeling guilty? Here are some answers.
What is matrescence?
Matrescence, a neologism born of the contraction of the words “maternity” and “adolescence”, was coined in 1973 by American anthropologist Dana Raphaël to describe the difficulties in developing maternal feelings. Motherhood is compared with adolescence, as it represents a genuine hormonal, psychological and emotional upheaval for women. Falling into disuse for years, this concept of matrescence was revived and dusted off in 2017 by American psychiatrist Alexandra Sacks (1), who in her practice faces many perplexed young mothers, lost, anxious and powerless in their new role as mothers.
Matrescence is also the title of a podcast series (2) produced and launched in 2019 by Clémentine Sarlat, a former sports journalist. The author also refers to matrescence as the 4th trimester of pregnancy.
Symptoms of matrescence
First of all, it’s important to remember that matrescence is not an illness, but an often physiological stage of life. There are therefore no real symptoms listed, but rather a set of ambivalent emotions, often compounded by a difficult-to-identify sense of unease.
It differs from postpartum depression, which affects around 10% of new mothers, in the absence of depressive symptoms. Matrescence resembles a teenage crisis in every way, with a surge in hormones, a body that changes and is no longer recognizable, and existential questions that get in the way.
According to Dr. Sacks, matrescence is primarily characterized by the duality of attraction and rejection for the child. According to the psychiatrist, the main culprit is oxytocin, also known as the “attachment hormone”, which makes the baby the center of the mother’s world, even if it means she forgets all about herself. The problem is that this doesn’t mean the mother loses her identity, her desires, needs, dreams and ambitions, all of which give rise to a feeling of rejection of the child. These two ambivalent feelings find it hard to coexist, generating a strong sense of guilt in the young woman who had expected to feel nothing but happiness and fulfillment.
Beyond guilt, matrescence can also generate :
- nervousness;
- sleep disorders;
- addictive tendencies;
- anxiety;
- permanent fatigue in the mother.
This matrescence phenomenon affects between 10 and 20% of young mothers, to varying degrees.
Causes of matrescence
In addition to the hormonal upheaval inherent in pregnancy and childbirth, including the secretion of oxytocin by the brain, matrescence is also linked to a modification of neuronal circuits.
The brain adapts to the new demands of motherhood, activating a sub-domain of the hypothalamus called the medial preoptic area, which is essential for parental care behaviors (3).
In addition to these physiological causes, there is a favorable psychological background, particularly in the case of some women who fantasize about motherhood with unrealistic expectations, concealing the difficulties, fatigue and the possibility that the maternal feeling is not necessarily innate and immediate.
Keys and solutions to help you get through this period
For a woman, the simple fact of understanding and naming her matrescence is already a big step towards acceptance. No, mothers who go through it are not bad mothers. Yes, it’s a normal physiological stage. And no, motherhood and the maternal instinct are not innate and natural for women.
It’s essential to de-idealize motherhood, to deconstruct the social discourse that associates it exclusively with the mother’s happiness and fulfillment. It’s also important to make young mothers feel less guilty, and to legitimize their fatigue, difficulties and ambivalent feelings. In the final analysis, matrescence is a transitional phase, more or less long, more or less visible and more or less difficult, experienced by women who become mothers.
Finally, fathers can play an important, life-saving role in the matrescence process. Their presence, support and understanding are indispensable to young mothers. What’s more, it’s essential that moms trust them and let them get involved without apprehension. Just the thing: paternity leave was recently doubled from 14 to 28 days in July 2021.
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