Signals

US – Peanut, a social networking app for women and mothers, and Tommee Tippee, a global baby products brand, have launched a global campaign to add the term ‘matrescence’ to dictionaries, arguing that the transition into motherhood remains culturally unnamed and widely misunderstood.

Coined in 1973 by anthropologist Dana Raphael, ‘matrescence’ describes the physical, psychological and emotional transformation of becoming a mother. The initiative begins with a full-page ad in The New York Times, urging lexicographers to formally recognise the word and stop flagging it as a misspelling.

According to Peanut, 67% of mothers have never heard the term. Michelle Battersby, president of Peanut, states: ‘Most women go through the biggest transformation of their lives thinking something is wrong with them because they don’t recognise themselves any more… They have no language for it. They think they’re alone. Or their experience is dismissed as ‘baby blues’, ‘hormones’ or simply ‘part of the job’.

The campaign will expand through a public petition and digital advocacy, aiming to move matrescence from academic discourse into mainstream culture while unlocking greater research, funding and support.

Raising awareness and education is critical, as is re-assessing outdated expectations of parenthood during this transformative life stage. We have previously analysed how businesses can better support mothers through Matrescence and this profound identity shift.