Women shouldn’t have to reach midlife to discover that…
You don’t have to live with period problems.
Motherhood doesn’t have to be a struggle. It doesn’t have to be an option at all.
You can have a healthy relationship with money.
But here we are.
Feeling disconnected or at war with our bodies, wondering if what they say about motherhood fulfilling our longings is true, tired of only making just enough to live the lives we imagined for ourselves.
What would you like to be different in your body and in your life?
I’m Melissa Danielle, a Matrescence Coach for Women and Home-Based Business Owners Over 35 Navigating Menstruation, Motherhood, and Money, and I’d love to help you answer this essential question.
Matrescence is…
“The process of becoming a mother, coined by Dana Raphael, Ph.D. (1973), is a developmental passage where a woman transitions through pre-conception, pregnancy and birth, surrogacy or adoption, to the postnatal period and beyond. The exact length of matrescence is individual, recurs with each child, and may arguably last a lifetime! The scope of the changes encompass multiple domains –bio-psycho-social-political-spiritual– and can be likened to the developmental push of adolescence. Increased attention to mothers has spurred new findings, from neuroscience to economics, and supports the rationale for a new field of study known as matrescence. Such an arena would allow the roundtable of specialists to come together and advance our understanding of this life passage.”
– Aurélie Athan, Ph.D.
Menstrual cycles are a woman’s vital sign, an indicator of your overall health. Your moods, energy, libido, cravings, whether you ovulated or not, your menstrual flow, cramping or other pain, and even the color of your menstrual blood are signs of nutrient and hormone (im)balances, inflammation, and/or other factors.
Motherhood means many things, but it shouldn’t be something that just happens to you because of “biological destiny”, limited information, or lack of preparedness. Motherhood also doesn’t have to diminish your individual self. Contemplating motherhood can help you create your own vision and version of the life you want to live as a parent.
Our relationship with money has a direct impact on our nervous system and our ability to self-regulate. When you understand your psychology of money, or your money story, you can choose to create a new relationship, one that creates ease and invites abundance into your life.
Ready to get started?
I began my journey to matrescence coaching as a health coach trained at Institute for Integrative Nutrition. In my early years of health coaching, I learned about our food system, the healing power of nature and how I could impact my community’s relationship with food, farming, and the outdoors.
While I loved my work, I was putting undue stress on my body and soon found myself living with chronic fatigue, unexplained weight gain, and a number of physical symptoms like eyebrow and hair thinning and hirsutism. It would be many years before I learned about the role my menstrual cycle played in my overall health, and it wasn’t until I decided to take a sabbatical from my work in community food education and agritourism that I decided to turn inward and address the anovulatory cycles, heavy flows, and other symptoms.
This experience led me to studying fertility and receiving a PCOS diagnosis. I was also diagnosed with Epstein-Barr, which explained the constant fatigue and recurring sore throat and sinus infections. I also began contemplating motherhood and enrolled in several movement, embodiment, and birthworker trainings.
The inner work I had to do to heal my relationship with my body, feelings towards motherhood, and attitudes about money has helped to shape my approach to matrescence. I am grateful for the opportunity to hold space for women on their journey.
