Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood

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I thought it was boring when it’s one of the most extreme socio-political experiences I have ever been through. The cultural myths of motherhood hold strong, and at times I found myself craving more delight, particularly because Jones’s writing on this aspect of motherhood is some of the most beautiful and creative in the book. Science based, no woo (rare in a pregnancy/birth book), straightforward and full of the reality of pregnancy, birth and small children. Around halfway through the book, I kept thinking, ‘please give me the good side that makes this all worth it. She extends and creates a kinship of mothers where we can attempt to understand why we feel the way we do.

Women who aren’t informed about what they might go through suffer more because of the shock and isolation. Not long into her pregnancy with her first child, a daughter, she realised the extent to which outdated and sexist expectations still govern motherhood: concepts like “natural childbirth” and “maternal instinct,” the judgemental requirement for exclusive breastfeeding, the idea that a parent should “enjoy every minute” of their offspring’s babyhood rather than admitting depression or overwhelm.This book is the kind of book we must ensure every one of us reads; every single person sharing this earth side by side with our kin of every form. We specialise in hard to find and international magazine titles including Apartamento, L'Étiquette, Popeye and Gentlewoman along with a range of fiction and non-fiction books from a wide range of independent publishers. This book should be given to every mother going through matresence, to every midwife, health visitor, doctor and anyone who is interested in how we make the world a bit more equal. We pay respect by giving voice to social justice, acknowledging our shared history and valuing the cultures of First Nations.

The pioneer of attachment theory, John Bowlby, did indeed underline the importance of the proximity of a child to a caregiver in terms of their emotional development, but he also said that parents are equally “dependent on a greater society for economic provision”, and that society should “cherish” its parents.Lucy Jones has also brought a very interesting theory - feminism has helped us break the glass ceiling at work, but overall motherhood remains bereft, and till date all data supports that the mother continues to be the more primary caregiver - In addition to having equal load of work in the office as males.

There is no other time in a human's life course that entails such dramatic change-other than adolescence. In fact, cells from the fallopian tube are required to secrete chemicals that allow the sperm to swim and mature, then the egg must enfold it. A take-no-prisoners tour-de-force, providing insightful criticism of every social/cultural paradigm surrounding pregnancy/birth/breastfeeding/motherhood in the West.Feminism owes a great debt to the women who smell smoke, and societal assumptions about unmedicated birth, breastfeeding, and intensive mothering continue to harm women’s mental and physical health daily. Creative, easy and free child-led activities to deepen the connection with the living world, from wild art to simple fires, potions, foraging and make-believe.