The Matrescence Movement exists to ensure that every mother encounters care that truly sees her.

*while we use she/her across this work when speaking about mothers, you do not need to be a female to be a mother.

Our goal is to establish a new standard of care:
matrescence-informed practice.

The Matrescence Movement provides education on matrescence — the developmental transformation of becoming a mother — to three audiences:

The mothers living it,
The practitioners caring for them, and
The universities and professional training programs shaping the next generation of maternal health professionals.

We envision a world where matrescence is taught before practitioners enter clinical practice. Where it is the foundation of maternal care, not an afterthought. Where no mother has to hear about it for the first time from a stranger on the internet.

We are building that world — one practitioner, one institution, one cohort at a time.

Watch Cayley talk about Matrescence on Global News

Hi, I’m Cayley.

educator | Facilitator | Coach | Founder

With a background in psychology, sociology, and leadership development — and 18 years experience educating and coaching thousands globally in North America and Asia Pacific — my work focuses on reframing motherhood as a profound, ongoing transformation.

Five years ago, I founded my education and coaching practice grounded in matrescence, supporting mothers through the identity shifts, emotional complexity, and unseen transitions of becoming a mother.

Across that work, I heard the same question again and again:

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

That question became the catalyst for expanding this work beyond individual support and into the education of maternal care professionals.

Because the gap is not just personal — it is systemic.

Through workshops, keynotes, and consulting, I now work with mothers, practitioners, and educational institutions to bring matrescence into conversation, care, and clinical practice.

My work is devoted to ensuring that no mother moves through this transition without language, recognition, or support.

Why Matrescence Matters

Improves maternal mental health outcomes

Matrescence education is psychoeducation. A randomized controlled trial found that psychoeducational programs reduced postnatal depression and stress in new mothers — because when mothers understand what they are experiencing, they seek help sooner and make better decisions about their care.

Language reduces shame and normalizes experience

A Columbia University pilot study found that teaching mothers about matrescence increased self-compassion and personal growth. Naming an experience moves it from shame into recognised human development — and shame is the primary reason mothers don't seek help. Matrescence is not a linguistic gesture. It is a clinically meaningful intervention.

Mothers feel seen beyond symptoms

When Statistics Canada found that 1 in 5 Canadian mothers were never once asked about their emotional well-being — by any provider, at any point during pregnancy or after birth — it confirmed what many mothers already knew: the system was looking at their symptoms, not at them.

Providers can differentiate normal transition from disorder

Not everything a new mother feels is a symptom. But without a framework for matrescence, providers have no way to know the difference. Training practitioners in this developmental transition means mothers are met with understanding first — and clinical support when it's genuinely needed.