Nova Scotia doula and author helps new mothers navigate big changes

Author Jessie Harrold chats about her new book, "Mothershift: Reclaiming Motherhood as a Rite of Passage."

A doula and author in Nova Scotia is helping mothers navigate a transition that they may not be aware of, even while it’s happening to them.

Jessie Harrold’s new book “Mothershift” is about matrescence: the developmental shift into motherhood.

“It’s a process that actually takes two to three years to complete,” Harrold said in an interview with CTV’s Crystal Garrett.

Harrold said she was inspired to write the book because nobody was talking about the transition when she became a mother 13 years ago, but she was lucky enough to work with a doula who was tuned into the ideas she teaches today.

She said the changes she observed in client’s lives made her more curious but information about matrescence is limited.

“This is a fairly new field of research even though we’ve been becoming mothers since the dawn of time,” Harrold said.

No matter how much research you do, Harrold said there may be no way to completely prepare for motherhood.

“It’s not just a change to the things you’re doing, like making really strong coffee and changing diapers,” Harrold said. “It’s a change to who you are.”

“Mothershift” is a guide through matrescence with applicable lessons in every chapter including meditation prompts and journalling exercises to orient mothers on their journey, said Harrold.

“I think of it as like a series of trail markers that kind of support a person to move through these phases of motherhood with just a little bit more sense of ease and feeling not alone.”

Harrold said the book emphasizes community because a lot of mothers today are isolated.

“Building community, I think, is one of the most powerful resources that mothers can access.”

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