Middle Ground Motherhood

Middle Ground Motherhood Mother-centred thinking + action. Motherhood, urbanism, public policy, and everything in between.

Matrescence is an anthropological term that describes the all-encompassing process of change – including the physical, h...
08/03/2026

Matrescence is an anthropological term that describes the all-encompassing process of change – including the physical, hormonal, emotional, social, cultural, economic, and spiritual transformation - women undergo when they become mothers.

The term matrescence was first coined by Dana Raphael in 1975, yet over 50 years later, it still hasn’t reached mainstream awareness.

When I consider the omission of matrescence from the dictionary, I am reminded of Pip Williams’ writing in The Dictionary of Lost Words, when character Esme overhears one of the men in the Scriptorium say, “Should it really be included?… It’s such an unpleasant word that I feel we should discourage its use”.

Read more in the MGM - https://open.substack.com/pub/middlegroundmotherhood/p/what-is-matrescence?r=2s1n5y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

We’re so close to making Releasing 2025: Women’s Circle happen on Sunday, 4 January 2026. I need just three more mums to...
18/12/2025

We’re so close to making Releasing 2025: Women’s Circle happen on Sunday, 4 January 2026. I need just three more mums to say yes by 21 December to go ahead.

This Circle is a chance to pause together and acknowledge everything this year has held — the growth, the grief, the challenges, the lessons, and the wins. If you’ve been feeling the nudge to slow down, reflect, and be held in community, we would love you to join us.

A place is also held for a mum experiencing financial barriers. Please use the same link below to access that place if that’s you this year.

https://events.humanitix.com/releasing-2025-womens-circle

This year, I’ll be raising a glass to a beautiful drink created through a collaboration between @ and . It’s sparked an...
14/12/2025

This year, I’ll be raising a glass to a beautiful drink created through a collaboration between @ and . It’s sparked an important conversation about the need for a new product category — “conscious drinks” — premium offerings that are more than just a “wine alternative.”

I purchased my drinks from the OzHarvest Shop and have also gifted them to teachers and friends. It’s a simple way to use our purchasing power to support local businesses and create a positive impact this Christmas.

Alcohol remains a serious issue for many individuals, families and communities across Australia. The South Australian Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence recognised the role alcohol plays in violence, and the SA Government has committed to important reforms — including legislation to introduce a minimum two-hour “safety-pause” to prevent the rapid delivery of alcohol.

I’ve written more about this — including why conscious drinks matter and how our choices can drive change — over on the MGM

https://open.substack.com/pub/middlegroundmotherhood/p/conscious-drinking-this-christmas?r=2s1n5y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

While the world rushes into Black Friday, we’re choosing something different: slowness, reflection, and connection.As th...
27/11/2025

While the world rushes into Black Friday, we’re choosing something different: slowness, reflection, and connection.

As the year draws to a close, you’re invited to secure your place for a restorative gathering for women—an intentional space to breathe, reconnect, and centre what truly matters.

Together, we’ll reflect on all this year has brought: the growth, the loss, the challenges, the lessons, and the wins.

Through grounding meditation, guided journaling, and meaningful rituals, we’ll gently release 2025 and call in our intentions for the year to come.

This is a nourishing space to:

✨ Reflect on your year
✨ Let go of old energies with release rituals
✨ Set intentions through guided journaling
✨ Anchor into your values with meditation
✨ Connect deeply with other women and the shared experience of motherhood

This season, skip the frenzy. Choose presence. Choose grounding. Invest in local creators and makers.

Our Releasing 2025 gathering will be held on Sunday, 4 January 2026 - https://events.humanitix.com/releasing-2025-womens-circle

🎃 Halloween is inescapable now.Fake blood, skeletons, and spooky tricks everywhere, even at after-school care. Yet here ...
31/10/2025

🎃 Halloween is inescapable now.

Fake blood, skeletons, and spooky tricks everywhere, even at after-school care. Yet here in the South, we should be welcoming Beltane—a celebration of fire, fertility, and new beginnings.

In my latest blog, I reflect on Halloween, Beltane, and the Life/Death/Life cycles that shape us.

🕯 Read more - https://open.substack.com/pub/middlegroundmotherhood/p/our-search-for-ritual-brought-us?r=2s1n5y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
🕯 Secure your place at our Releasing 2025 Women's Circle - https://events.humanitix.com/releasing-2025-womens-circle

As the saying goes, “many hands make light work”, and this work of movement making is done through the efforts of many. ...
03/10/2025

As the saying goes, “many hands make light work”, and this work of movement making is done through the efforts of many.

Congratulations to the team on another fabulous year.

Thank you to everyone who attended our annual event to support the call for safer streets for families who ride bikes (and everyone else).

We're taking a pause to reflect, celebrate and plot our next steps.

You can read more of my reflections on our movement at the MGM - https://middlegroundmotherhood.substack.com/

I recently sat through a workshop where "flexible work" was framed as a favour we can’t afford. The usual suspects (let’...
15/08/2025

I recently sat through a workshop where "flexible work" was framed as a favour we can’t afford.

The usual suspects (let’s call them “Andrew” because 7 per cent of all ASX CEOs were Andrews and only 5.5 per cent were women in 2019 data) are still missing the point

Flexibility isn’t a perk — it’s essential for equity, sustainability, and a functioning future.

The upcoming Economic Reform Roundtable is a chance to shift the focus from the usual KPIs to care, climate and wellbeing.

🔗 Read more, including a powerful breakdown of why we can afford better - link https://open.substack.com/pub/middlegroundmotherhood/p/its-time-to-redefine-productivity?r=2s1n5y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

🧡Head over to .lately for excellent Roundtable content, including a fantastic recommended reading list for decision makers ahead of the discussions.

💪 Get behind the campaign for a four-day work week, because less is more - productivity, wellbeing, retention.

🚸 Kids want to walk or ride to school — so do their parents.But over the past 40 years, active school travel has dropped...
21/07/2025

🚸 Kids want to walk or ride to school — so do their parents.

But over the past 40 years, active school travel has dropped from 75% to just 25%. Why? Unsafe streets.

🚗 Most parents (75%) don’t enjoy the school drive.

Without safe paths, kids are being driven short distances they could walk or ride.

⚠️ Speed matters:
A person hit at 50km/h has a 90% chance of being killed. At 30km/h? Less than 10%.

🚲Streets should be safe, social “third places” — not just car corridors. For many Adelaide kids, their “third place” is the car.

Let’s reclaim our streets for children and communities.

Read more about our experience with the daily commute as more of our local area is taken for wider roads https://open.substack.com/pub/middlegroundmotherhood/p/your-third-place-is-probably-a-car?r=dqy4t&utm_medium=ios

Join us Sunday, 14 September, for our annual demonstration event to claim our rights to safe streets - link in KMA bio for your free ticket.

Keeping the Faith: How feeling unsupported is not personal and deeply personal during this season of our lives. Logicall...
06/07/2025

Keeping the Faith: How feeling unsupported is not personal and deeply personal during this season of our lives.

Logically, we know that, like us, friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances have fluctuating levels of capacity and interest in being part of our lives. Most often, that’s not personal, although it can feel deeply personal when we lack support and feel isolated.

✉️ Most often, it’s action, not faith, that secures the support we need in our lives - read more in this week's - https://open.substack.com/pub/middlegroundmotherhood/p/faith-is-not-enough-to-get-our-needs?r=2s1n5y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

🫶Recognising the constraints of capitalism/patriarchy - How can you prioritise your support networks, including friendships and hobbies, this month?

Here’s one option 👇

🌙 Bookings for the next Great Mothering New Moon gathering on Sunday, 27 July, at 7.30 pm are open - secure your place https://buy.stripe.com/eVq7sM8GA2hxgCR2s8aZi04

Your participation contributes to something bigger, not just for yourself but also for those who need the support that your presence provides.

The investment is $33, or you can opt for the pay-as-you-can option.

Bookings close at 9 pm on Sunday, 20 July.

In March 2024, I was in Canberra with a Union delegation when it was announced that superannuation would be paid on gove...
27/06/2025

In March 2024, I was in Canberra with a Union delegation when it was announced that superannuation would be paid on government-funded paid parental leave (PPL) to help address the gender super gap 😀

From 1 July 2025, eligible parents will receive a superannuation contribution equivalent to the Superannuation Guarantee rate on their government-funded PPL, paid directly to their super fund after the relevant financial year has ended.

This change is expected to benefit around 180,000 families each year. It resulted from years of lobbying by a range of sectors, including the union movement. Thousands of women told their stories of retiring in poverty because their unpaid care was not recognised and valued.

📖Our stories are powerful - read more in this week's - https://open.substack.com/pub/middlegroundmotherhood/p/unpaid-care?r=2s1n5y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

We must continue to share our stories to influence the changes needed to support mothers and caregivers in our community.

💪

Maternal Rage 😠 Why are mums so angry? And what can we do about it? "If you look across the research, you learn that ang...
16/06/2025

Maternal Rage 😠

Why are mums so angry? And what can we do about it?

"If you look across the research, you learn that anger is an emotion that we feel when something gets in the way of a desired outcome or when we believe there’s a violation of the way things should be" - Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart.

📖Read more in this week's - https://open.substack.com/pub/middlegroundmotherhood/p/maternal-rage?r=2s1n5y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

🧡Invest in the support you need, join us for the next Great Mother New Moon Gathering on Sunday, 29 June, 7.30pm to 10pm online - https://buy.stripe.com/28EbJ27Cw4pF0DT2s8aZi03

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