The Becoming Podcast | Season 2; Episode 8 | Aurélie Athan on the psychology of matrescence, motherhood as a path to spiritual growth + the "next level" of postpartum support

I am delighted to have Dr. Aurélie Athan on the show with me today. Aurélie is a professor at Columba University in New York City, and is the world's leading researcher in matrescence and the transition to motherhood. To say that this conversation was absolutely sparkling is an understatement. Aurélie and I talked about what matrescence, or the transition to motherhood, is, and, as she says, "how to raise a mother."  We talked about the pathologization and the potential of this transition in women's lives, and how challenging our modern-day context can make this process of initiation and growth. We dove into the inner workings of the psychology of matrescence with a depth of conversation that is rare in today's discourse around postpartum, talking about "the next level" of postpartum support that goes beyond saying *that* the transition to motherhood happens and into *how* it happens. We also talked about motherhood as a spiritual path, a path toward sovereignty and self-authorship, matricentric feminism, and the competencies that motherhood teaches us that lend themselves to leadership and, you know, smashing the patriarchy and saving the world. It's no exaggeration to say that this is probably one of the richest conversations about the psychology of matrescence I've heard (and gotten to participate in!) in all my years of working in this field.  This truly is the "next level" of how we understand and traverse the transition to motherhood, and it will be fascinating for both mothers and birth and postpartum support workers alike.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!