Matrescence is the term to describe the extended developmental transition through which a person becomes a mother, unfolding across preconception, pregnancy, childbirth, surrogacy or adoption, and the postnatal period and beyond. Like adolescence, it involves profound biological transformation accompanied by psychological, relational, social, cultural and existential reorganisation as maternal identity takes shape (Parimi et al. 2026). Across disciplines, matrescence is now understood as a developmental transition rather than a discrete event. Since Raphael (1975) first coined the term in the 1970s, scholarship across neuroscience, psychology, anthropology and workforce research has advanced it as a multidimensional reorganisation of identity, neurobiology, relationships and meaning. Neuroimaging studies demonstrate measurable structural and functional brain adaptations across pregnancy (Hoekzema et al. 2020; Pawluski 2024; Straathof et al. 2026). Phenomenological inquiry captures the accompanying identity, relational and existential transformations (Davies 2025), while matrescence-informed psychoeducation improves maternal self-compassion and awareness (Trinko et al. 2025). Within nursing, workforce research demonstrates that becoming a mother reshapes professional identity with implications for retention and sustainability (Watson et al. 2026). Yet, within nursing scholarship, this transition remains curiously unnamed: both in patient care discourse and in nursing workforce organisational strategies. When the developmental transition to motherhood goes unrecognised, in assessment, education and organisational policy, a form of missed care occurs. Missed care refers to required nursing care that is omitted (in part or in whole) or delayed, and it is increasingly examined as a quality and safety indicator shaped not only by individual practice but by system conditions. It is increasingly understood as a quality and safety indicator shaped not only by individual practice but by system conditions. Recent research (see for example Cohen et al. 2025) has linked missed care to staffing, workload, skill mix and organisational culture, positioning missed care as a structural signal of what becomes normalised as ‘not possible’ within constrained systems. Framing the omissions surrounding matrescence as missed care therefore situates the argument within an established body of nursing scholarship and makes visible a specific kind of developmental and relational care that can be routinely left undone. As political and institutional leaders shape public narratives about what is medicalised and what is understood as normative development in women's health, nursing cannot remain peripheral to these conversations. Such distinctions are neither neutral nor benign. They are frequently informed by longstanding gendered assumptions within healthcare systems that have historically medicalised and dismissed women's embodied experiences (Jackson et al. 2025). If nursing is to uphold its commitment to holistic care and sustainability of its predominantly female workforce, the silence is no longer defensible. Matrescence should be integrated into foundational and advanced nursing curricula, particularly within maternal-child, mental health, community health, and leadership courses. Current peripartum education frequently centres on pathology; the term ‘postpartum’ is most often associated with screening for depression, anxiety or psychosis, without explicitly framing motherhood as a normative developmental transition (Trinko et al. 2025). This pathology-dominant framing risks narrowing students' clinical gaze, positioning motherhood primarily as a site of risk rather than as a predictable and multidimensional developmental reorganisation. A predominantly biomedical lens risks reducing complex maternal experiences to a binary of ‘well versus ill’, potentially obscuring the developmental reorganisation inherent in becoming a mother (Athan 2024). Drawing on qualitative research, mothers describe matrescence as a period of profound developmental, relational, and societal change that reshapes identity and meaning (Davies 2025; Watson et al. 2026). Without an explicit developmental framework, nurses may inadvertently interpret normative transitional issues as pathology, thereby narrowing opportunities for anticipatory guidance and relational support. For nursing education, the imperative is less about adding content and more about shifting perspective: preparing future nurses to recognise developmental reorganisation from clinical pathology, provide anticipatory guidance, to offer anticipatory guidance as routine practice, and to ground maternal care in developmental science rather than deficit-based interpretation. Nursing educators must move beyond a pathology-dominant approach and intentionally position matrescence as a developmental framework within maternal health education. This requires equipping students to distinguish normal transition from clinical pathology without minimising the importance of either. Integrating relevant neuroscience findings alongside psychosocial and qualitative insights would deepen students' understanding of motherhood as multidimensional reorganisation rather than an isolated obstetric event. Just as importantly, curricula should prepare future nurses to provide anticipatory guidance as routine practice, not merely respond to crisis. This matters because help-seeking is not simply an individual disposition: longitudinal evidence suggests it is influenced by access to antenatal education, available social support, and paternal involvement in infant care, particularly among mothers experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage (Shorey et al. 2025). Conceptual clarity about matrescence is essential if nurses are to avoid pathologising normal developmental processes and instead deliver care that is developmentally informed, relationally attuned, and ethically grounded. For nurse leaders, matrescence is not solely a patient-care consideration; it is a workforce sustainability variable. Neuroscience demonstrates that pregnancy induces measurable neuroplastic adaptation in networks related to caregiving, social cognition, and reward processing, with structural changes persisting beyond the immediate postpartum period (Hoekzema et al. 2020; Straathof et al. 2026). These adaptations reflect developmental reorganisation rather than deficit. Leadership frameworks that fail to recognise this normative reorganisation risk misinterpreting developmental change as diminished capacity, with consequences for evaluation, advancement, and retention. Concurrently, research indicates that becoming a mother reshapes professional identity, emotional labor, and meaning-making within high-acuity clinical environments. When organisational cultures fail to recognise matrescence as a normative developmental transition, nurses describe strain, invisibility, and tension between caregiving roles. When supported, they report strengthened empathy, advocacy, and renewed professional commitment (Watson et al. 2026). Leadership practice must begin by recognising matrescence as a predictable workforce transition rather than an exceptional disruption. This recognition should translate into equitable and protected parental leave, thoughtfully supported return-to-work processes, and workplace environments that provide meaningful lactation support and flexible scheduling. Equally important is educating managers to understand matrescence as developmental reorganisation rather than diminished professional capacity. Without this conceptual shift, policies risk reinforcing subtle penalties for motherhood that accumulate over time. Workforce sustainability debates frequently centre on burnout, staffing ratios, and moral distress. Far less attention is paid to matrescence as a structural determinant of retention. In a profession that remains predominantly female worldwide, failure to explicitly address this life-course transition does not simply inconvenience individual nurses; it perpetuates systemic attrition and compromises long-term workforce stability. For nurses providing perinatal and community-based care, integrating matrescence into practice reframes patient education, anticipatory guidance, and psychosocial assessment. Rather than approaching the postnatal period primarily through a lens of surveillance for disorder, nurses can engage mothers in conversations that normalise developmental change while remaining attentive to emerging risk. This shift expands the scope of care from monitoring symptoms to supporting identity formation, relational adjustment, and maternal self-understanding. Neuroimaging research demonstrates that pregnancy is associated with structural remodelling in brain regions involved in caregiving, social cognition, and reward processing (Hoekzema et al. 2020; Pawluski 2024). These adaptations extend beyond birth and may differ between first and subsequent pregnancies (Straathof et al. 2026). At the experiential level, phenomenological inquiry reveals that many mothers feel unprepared for the identity reorganisation and relational shifts inherent in this transition (Davies 2025). Matrescence is neither transient nor superficial; it reflects coordinated biological and existential transformation. When nurses recognise this convergence of neurobiological change and lived experience, assessment can move beyond symptom checklists toward developmentally attuned dialogue. Direct care nurses play a critical role in translating the concept of matrescence into everyday practice. This begins with normalising identity shifts and mixed emotions as expected elements of becoming a mother, rather than immediate indicators of dysfunction. During prenatal care, nurses can introduce anticipatory education about matrescence, preparing women for the developmental changes that may unfold alongside physical recovery. Emotional fluctuations can be framed within a developmental context while maintaining vigilance for distress that exceeds normative transition and warrants referral. The language nurses use is equally powerful; affirming maternal change and avoiding stigmatising narratives helps reduce shame and fosters openness. Incorporating matrescence into clinical dialogue supports maternal health literacy, reduces isolation, and strengthens the therapeutic relationship by acknowledging motherhood as a multidimensional developmental transition rather than solely a period of risk. Despite growing interdisciplinary momentum, nursing scholarship has yet to fully integrate matrescence into its conceptual, educational and organisational frameworks. This omission is not merely semantic; it reflects a deeper gap in how the profession recognises and structures care across the life course. As both a clinical concern and a workforce sustainability imperative, matrescence requires deliberate incorporation into nursing curricula, clinical standards, leadership development and health policy. In healthcare systems where medical misogyny remains structurally embedded (Jackson et al. 2025), silence is not neutral and risks reinforcing the marginalisation of women's developmental experiences. When developmental transitions go unrecognised in nursing assessment, education, and policy, the relational, identity-based, and anticipatory dimensions of care are left undone. Explicitly naming and integrating matrescence means nursing affirms motherhood as a multidimensional developmental process requiring coordinated social, educational and institutional support, rather than mere surveillance for pathology. The evidence is clear; the ethical and professional responsibility for integration now rests with nursing. The authors have nothing to report. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
Watson et al. (Tue,) studied this question.