School of Mothering Podcast

SOURCE: School for Mothers

LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST EPISODE HERE:

Interviewer: Danusia Malina-Derben

Podcast: School of Mothers

“The mother is the beginning of everything yet she’s often the last called to the table” Dr Aurelie Athan joins me for an episode about motherhood, identity, and so much more. Aurelie’s a reproductive psychologist and faculty member at Columbia University where she’s revived the term Matrescence. Her work is revolutionary – unlike the majority of academic studies into motherhood she focuses on the actual mother (not their children). She studies mothers’ development holistically, both their thriving AND distress. In this episode we explore how her work on matrescence led her to new work around reproductive identity.

If you’ve seen the back cover of my book, NOISE, you’ll know that the central question I explore is “How can I be a Mother and Still be Me?” so talking about motherhood and identity is always right up my street. In fact, I reference Aurelie’s research in NOISE, and the quote above is included in my book!

About my guest, Dr Aurelie Athan:

Dr Aurelie Athan is a reproductive psychologist specializing in fertility and the transition to motherhood. She is a practicing psychologist and research professor at Columbia University where she tries to create and translate theories to help people navigate becoming parents. She likes to call it “farm to table” academia by getting trusted information into the hands of the public.