010: Returning to Work After Maternity Leave, the Skills You Gain in Matrescence & Research Findings that Can Shape Workplace and Systemic Change

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:

Motherhood doesn’t mean “bouncing back” to who you were before. It can reshape your identity, values, relationships, career, and sense of self - yet many women enter pregnancy with almost no preparation for the emotional transformation ahead. Zana and her guest explore what happens when motherhood collides with emotionally demanding work, invisible mental load, and the pressure to support everyone else. The guest shares her experience as a child protection lawyer and mother, including the compassion fatigue that followed her home, the impact on her relationship, and why running and connection with other women became essential forms of support.You’ll hear about:

When You Become a Mother, You’re Born Too You can prepare for birth, baby’s arrival, and the endless newborn essentials, but how do you prepare for the birth of you? If motherhood has left you anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, or wondering why nobody warned you about this transformation, this conversation is for you. I speak with Emma from Empower Matrescence, a perinatal mental health nurse, birth debriefer, maternal and infant health researcher, and postnatal support practitioner. Emma shares how her own experience of breastfeeding struggles, extreme sleep deprivation, undiagnosed thyroid issues, and inadequate support revealed the gap between what mothers need and what the maternity system often provides.Together, we unpack:

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.

Emily joins me from Canada to share her deeply honest journey through an unexpected path into motherhood. Together, we explore matrescence through multiple lenses—from the cultural and societal expectations placed on mothers to the deeply personal pressure so many women carry to become the elusive "good mother." With remarkable vulnerability, Emily reflects on how motherhood challenged the identity she had carefully presented to the world, and how the transition through matrescence ultimately led her to discover a version of herself that felt genuinely authentic for the first time. Our conversation also turns to the future. Emily shares the changes she hopes to see in the way society prepares, supports, and validates new parents, believing that a better understanding of matrescence has the power to transform the experience of motherhood for future generations. Although we discuss differences between pregnancy and postpartum care in Canada and Australia, one truth remains universal: no matter where a woman lives, becoming a mother is a profound psychological, emotional, and social transition. Matrescence knows no borders, yet too often women are expected to navigate this transformation without the understanding, language, or support they deserve. This conversation is a powerful reminder that while every mother's story is unique, the experience of becoming a mother is something that connects women across the world.