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A new way to think about the transition to motherhood | Alexandra Sacks
Becoming a mom is like a second adolescence. Six minutes that might make you feel a lot less alone. 🍼
Who it's for
In six minutes, Sacks gives new parents a simple word for the strange, divided feeling of no longer recognising themselves.
Confused→Understood
Feelings it meets
What it is
Reproductive psychiatrist Alexandra Sacks introduces the term matrescence, a transition into motherhood she compares to adolescence. She describes the emotional tug-of-war many new mothers feel between the baby and their own needs and former self, and argues that this ambivalence is a normal part of a major identity shift rather than something to be ashamed of or automatically treated as illness.
Where to find it
Free on TED.com and the TED YouTube channel.
Before you start
Heads up: Brief mention of postpartum depression.
Age: Ages 12+
I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.Henry David Thoreau, Walden, “Conclusion”
