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When Midlife Meets Motherhood
For too long, menopause has been treated as something to hide, endure, or quietly survive. Our culture doesn’t talk about it, and because of that silence, generations of women have suffered. But menopause is not an ending. It is a rite of passage… as sacred and transformative as birth.
Today, more people are having babies later in life, which means many are entering perimenopause or menopause while still deep in the work of mothering. You might be postpartum and perimenopausal at the same time. You might be raising children, caring for aging parents, building a career, and trying to remember who you are beneath all the roles. These overlapping transitions can feel heavy, messy, and invisible, and yet, they are profoundly human.
Mothering in a Society That Wasn’t Built for Mothers
Mothering is the daily practice of showing up in a world that often refuses to make space for you. It is an act of care, resilience, and rebellion. The work is endless, often invisible, and yet it holds the power to shape generations.
In this section, we talk about what it means to mother within systems that undervalue both mothers and care work. We explore the emotional labor, the exhaustion, and the tenderness that coexist in the same breath. We name the mental load for what it is: unpaid, unacknowledged expertise.
Here, you will not find advice about how to be a “better” mother. You will find solidarity, language, and reflection. You will find permission to mother in ways that are aligned with your values, not with cultural myths. Mothering is political, personal, and powerful, and it deserves to be treated that way.
The Becoming: Honoring Your Matrescence
Matrescence is the word that finally names what mothers have always known but rarely had language for. It describes the emotional, physical, hormonal, and social changes that occur when someone becomes a mother. It is as real and complex as adolescence, yet almost never acknowledged in traditional healthcare.
This space is about witnessing that process. We explore the shifts in identity, body image, partnership, and purpose that arrive with motherhood. We ask deeper questions about who you were before and who you are becoming now.
Matrescence is not something to “get through.” It is something to move with. Here, you can learn to honor each stage of your evolution, to see your growth not as loss but as expansion. You are allowed to take up space in your own story.
POSTPARTUM IS FOREVER
Postpartum Is Forever
Postpartum is not a finish line. It does not end when your stitches heal or when your baby starts sleeping through the night. It is an unfolding process that continues for as long as you are growing into the person motherhood is asking you to be.
In this space, we tell the truth about what postpartum really looks like. The body aches, the tears, the loss of identity, and the quiet joy that sneaks in between the hard parts. We talk about what happens to your hormones, your relationships, your sense of self, and the unrealistic expectations that make so many mothers feel like they are failing.
I’m Dawn, a Certified Nurse Midwife, Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I am also a mom of four, with 19 years of mothering experience. I’ve spent over a decade supporting women and mothers professionally, through every phase of life, from fertility and pregnancy to postpartum, perimenopause, and beyond.
My work is holistic and rooted in matriarchy, a model of care that honors women’s wisdom, centers mothers’ lived experiences, and values care as the foundation of a healthy society. I approach motherhood as both a rite of passage and a radical act of creation, guided by the principles of social and reproductive justice.
I believe healthcare should honor the full person, not just their symptoms, and that mothers deserve care that reflects their humanity, dignity, and complexity. Through Matricentric Health & Well Care, I’ve created a space for evidence-based, holistic, and mother-centered care that fills the gaps our healthcare system so often leaves behind.
Whether I’m writing, teaching, or sitting with someone one-on-one, my mission remains the same: to make mothers feel seen, heard, and supported in every season of their becoming.
