Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood

Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood by Lucy Jones is a deeply personal investigation into the transformation that comes with pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood. The word itself names a metamorphosis as dramatic as adolescence, and yet one that science, medicine and philosophy have largely overlooked. Jones, an acclaimed journalist and science writer, sets out to change that. Drawing on research across neuroscience, evolutionary biology, psychoanalysis, sociology, economics and ecology, she shows that the changes in the maternal mind, brain and body run deeper and last longer than most accounts admit. The book also takes a clear-eyed look at the systems that have made modern motherhood so difficult, and asks what it would take to do better by mothers, and by everyone around them. Longlisted for the 2024 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction and named a book of the year by the New Yorker, the New Statesman and the Daily Mail. Paperback 320 pages