I’m Emma, founder of Mother Connect. I’m passionate about creativity, education, and community, with many years of experience designing programmes, workshops, and events in the UK arts and education sectors. Since moving to Germany in 2020 and becoming a mother, I have been re-training as a facilitator and coach. 

As a new mother in a new country, I had difficulty navigating the new healthcare system, struggled to secure a midwife, and went through pregnancy, birth, post-partum and early motherhood whilst getting to know a new language and culture. I was not expecting to feel so lonely, or that my world had turned upside-down.

Like many women, I thought motherhood was a rite of passage, and expected to feel “complete”, content, and competent in my new role. Whilst I felt intense love for my child, I spent the early years feeling quite overwhelmed. I slowly began to realise that my identity had changed in ways I hadn’t anticipated, and was yet to fully comprehend.

As I started to talk more openly to other mothers, I realised I was not alone in this experience, but it wasn’t until my child was two years old that I first came across the term Matrescence, and suddenly so much of what I had been experiencing physically and emotionally made sense. 

Nothing could have prepared me for the profound impact that Matrescence would have on my life, career, and sense of self, but I do believe I could have been better supported. What I offer through Mother Connect is something I wish I could have accessed for myself as a new mother living abroad: somebody to help me understand, honour, and process this moment of change in my life, so I could move forward and thrive.