Tracing the developmental arc of matrescence: a phenomenological study of urban Indian mothers

The transition into motherhood entails profound developmental shifts across biological, psychological, emotional, and identity domains, conceptualized as matrescence, a dynamic process with significant implications for maternal well-being. Although scholarship on matrescence has expanded, it remains largely Western-centered, with limited attention to non-Western contexts. Addressing this gap, the present study explores how urban Indian mothers experience and interpret matrescence across different stages of motherhood. Guided by a phenomenological framework, this qualitative study draws on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 urban Indian mothers representing diverse occupational and family contexts. Interviews focused on emotional, relational, bodily, and identity-related changes following childbirth. Data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine how mothers construct meaning around their transition over time. Findings reveal matrescence as a layered, evolving process organized around two overarching themes: Personhood – encompassing cognitive, emotional, physical, and identity shifts and Meaning-making of matrescence, shaped through personal narratives and sociocultural constructions of motherhood. Participants described renegotiating selfhood while navigating gendered expectations, familial pressures, and idealized models of “good” motherhood, highlighting the emotional labor embedded in maternal adaptation. By foregrounding mothers’ voices from a non-Western setting, this study contributes to scholarship on matrescence and maternal mental health by demonstrating how cultural context shapes psychological experience. The findings underscore the need for contextually grounded frameworks and culturally sensitive supports that recognize motherhood as a developmental transition rather than a fixed identity state. The study presents a culturally grounded spiral model of matrescence as a recursive process of embodied change, meaning-making, and sociocultural negotiation.