004: Traumatic Birth, NICU and Motherhood Without a Village: Cassandra's Story of Healing
Emerging in Motherhood: MatrescenceShow Notes
What happens when your introduction to motherhood is nothing like you imagined? In this episode of The Matrescence Project, Cassandra shares her deeply personal story of becoming a mother after a traumatic and emotionally difficult start to motherhood—including fear during pregnancy, premature birth, six weeks in NICU and the experience of navigating motherhood without the support of a village around her. Before motherhood, Cass describes herself as fiercely independent. She loved travelling, thrived in the corporate world and was driven by career ambition. Meeting her husband began to soften her perspective on life and eventually changed how she imagined her future—including the possibility of becoming a mother. But Cass's transition into motherhood was not straightforward. During pregnancy, fear of loss made it difficult for her to allow herself to fully connect with her baby. When her daughter arrived early and spent the first six weeks of her life in NICU, that fear did not simply disappear. Cass shares the emotional impact of a traumatic beginning to motherhood, the struggles and experiences that shaped her early years as a mother, and how the absence of practical and emotional support affected her transition. For years, Cass felt she hadn't fully "bloomed into motherhood." Her story is an important reminder that becoming a mother does not always happen in a single moment. Indeed, becoming takes time. Through persistence, courage and determination, Cass gradually found her own way into motherhood—often in unexpected places and through experiences she never imagined would shape her Cassandra's story reminds us that there is no single way to become a mother. For some women, motherhood feels immediate. For others, it unfolds slowly—through fear, grief, healing, growth and time. And perhaps one of the most important questions we can ask is not: "Why didn't motherhood come naturally to me?" But: "What happened to me while I was trying to become?" Follow The Matrescence Project for conversations exploring matrescence, motherhood, maternal identity, postpartum support, the village and the many different ways women experience becoming a mother. And to stay up to date on what is happening with the project, as well as opportunities to send in your questions for experts, follow The Matrescence Project on Facebook and Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575355774112 https://www.instagram.com/matrescence_project/
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In this episode of Emerging in Motherhood: Matrescence, Zana welcomes Katerina Annels — an osteopath, trained lactation consultant and creator of the Nurture Online 7 Sisters program — for a thoughtful conversation about matrescence, postpartum care, maternal wellbeing and why every mother deserves a village. Katerina shares how her own experiences, including pregnancy loss and becoming a mother, shaped her understanding of matrescence and the support women need through the transition into motherhood. Together, we explore why postpartum recovery is about more than caring for a newborn, and how practical, emotional and community support can make a meaningful difference to a mother's wellbeing, recovery and early parenting experience. In this episode, we explore:
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Have you been planning your return to work after motherhood, but now feel a little lost about how to actually make it happen? Perhaps you had the itch to return to work, only to discover that when you did, something didn't quite fit anymore. Or maybe you're still itching to return to your career, but aren't sure what that should look like now that you're a mother. Whatever your relationship with work, career and motherhood, today's conversation with India Sutherland from India Sutherland Coaching is likely to speak to you. India experienced first-hand how matrescence can shift our identity, and how those changes can have profound implications for our careers, ambitions and the way we want to work. Like many mothers, she eventually left the corporate world and built a coaching business that allows her to work in a way that is much more aligned with her values, her family and the life she wants to create. In this conversation, India shares practical advice for mothers returning to work or navigating work after having children, including how to approach conversations with your employer, ask for the flexibility you need, and navigate the realities of sick children, school and daycare commitments, pickups and the many unexpected demands of family life. But we also go deeper. Because sometimes a difficult daycare or school drop-off—when your little person is clinging to your leg and begging you not to leave—can leave you wondering: Is this really what I want to be doing? How can I make this work better? What do I actually value? And perhaps most importantly: What do my family and I actually need from the way we structure our lives? Because our values aren't simply a buzzword. As we move through matrescence and motherhood, our values can become clearer, shift or feel increasingly difficult to ignore. And when the way we're living and working feels out of alignment with those values, we can feel the consequences. This is a conversation about motherhood and identity, returning to work, career change after having children, workplace flexibility, family needs and finding a way of working that feels more congruent with the woman you've become. If you'd like to hear more from India or learn more about her coaching and how she supports mothers, you can find her through her website, Instagram and Substack below: https://indiasutherland.com https://www.instagram.com/indiasutherland.coaching?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsi=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== https://substack.com/@indiasutherlandcoaching Topics discussed: matrescence, motherhood identity, returning to work after motherhood, career after motherhood, working mothers, career change, workplace flexibility, values, motherhood and career, Australian mothers, flexible work.
Are you on maternity leave or planning your return to work transition? Have you recently returned but feel different, changed, or like you are not performing in the same way? According to Mothered Magazine’s editor-in-chief, TEDx speaker, author and award-winning workplace culture innovator, Alexa Starks, mums often do feel a difference in their performance - but for the better. If you need the evidence to help you understand the change or perhaps the language to explain it to others then this conversation is for you. Alexa also discusses what workplaces can do from a systemic perspective to better support mothers returning to work after maternity leave, and how this is in fact in their best interests as well as yours. We also discuss the long-overdue and much-needed change in the narrative of mothers, motherhood, and how awesome this real-life experience actually is for our leadership skills. If you want to access the full report (and perhaps show it to your boss?) visit: https://www.motheredmagazine.com You can also check out Alexa Starks on Substack or Instagram. In future, if you want the opportunity to send in your questions to the incredibly knowledgeable women who will be sharing their insight and expertise on this podcast in future episodes, be sure to follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matrescence_project/ or on The Matrescence Project's Facebook Page where I share the details before the interviews. This is a podcast for all of us, so I want you to have the opportunity to have your questions answered!