014: Matrescence & Postpartum Support: How to Build Your Village with Katerina Annels Part I

In this episode of Emerging in Motherhood: Matrescence, Zana welcomes Katerina Annels — an osteopath, trained lactation consultant and creator of the Nurture Online 7 Sisters program — for a thoughtful conversation about matrescence, postpartum care, maternal wellbeing and why every mother deserves a village.

Katerina shares how her own experiences, including pregnancy loss and becoming a mother, shaped her understanding of matrescence and the support women need through the transition into motherhood. Together, we explore why postpartum recovery is about more than caring for a newborn, and how practical, emotional and community support can make a meaningful difference to a mother's wellbeing, recovery and early parenting experience.

In this episode, we explore:

• What matrescence is and how becoming a mother transforms our identity and sense of self.

• Why postpartum care and support for mothers often feel scarce once a baby arrives.

• The importance of the fourth trimester, postpartum rest, nourishment and recovery.

• How practical help — from meals and household tasks to caring for older children — creates space for mothers to rest and bond with their babies.

• How to build your village before birth and create a postpartum support plan that reflects your family's needs.

• Why asking for help can feel difficult, how to communicate specific needs, and why it's important to make saying “no” an acceptable answer.

• What we can learn from cultural traditions that prioritise postpartum rest, nourishment and community care.

• How neighbours, friends and people across generations can become part of a mother's support network.

• Why supporting mothers is not just an individual or family responsibility, but a wider cultural and societal one.

Katerina also shares more about her Nurture Online 7 Sisters program, which helps expectant mothers build a practical, sustainable postpartum support network before their baby arrives. While she is not currently running the workshops, mums can still access the information available through the website. 

Explore Katerina's 7 Sisters program: https://nurtureonline.org/7-sisters-sales-page

Because preparing for a baby should mean more than preparing the nursery. It should also mean preparing the community that will care for the mother.

If we want mothers to feel supported rather than isolated, and if we want our children and grandchildren to inherit a kinder, more connected world, we need to rethink how we approach postpartum care — and start building those communities now.

Because we don't simply bounce back. We rupture, we reshape, and we emerge. This is matrescence.

Connect with Emerging in Motherhood for more real conversations about the experiences, identities and transformations that shape us as mothers

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