First edition · 2026 · Amanda Wilde
The Matrèsa
Index.
A global lens on the conditions for and experience of matrescence.
What mothers need. What’s provided.
What’s measured. What’s not.
What must change.
The starting point
A mother’s wellbeing matters in its own right.
Not only in relation to her child’s outcomes or her ability to continue caring for others. The Matrèsa Index brings the woman experiencing matrescence into clearer view: what she needs, what is available to her, and how she experiences her life.
Two distinct perspectives guide the framework: the conditions surrounding a mother, and the experience of the woman living them.
Four ideas to carry forward · From the report’s key findings
Part I · Five pillars
Conditions.
What cultures uphold. What systems provide.
Five pillars examine the structures and commitments surrounding a mother. Each brings the proposed Matrèsa Standard into conversation with international guidance and selected examples of policy or practice.
Condition · 01
Maternal Care
Care for the whole transition.
Does she have access to education, support, and informed, responsive care that meets her changing needs throughout postpartum and matrescence?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Access
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
A clear pathway into care: a known point of contact, timely appointments, supported referrals and continuity as needs change.
Education
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
A first-year care roadmap, education about matrescence, and clear information about recovery and available support.
Support
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Proactive, affordable and accessible options for physical recovery, nourishment, sleep, mental health, practical relief and connection.
Condition · 02
Protected Time
Time she can genuinely use.
Does she have protected time to recover, bond with her baby, experience matrescence, and integrate her maternal identity?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Right to Rest
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Freedom from nonessential obligations, backed by practical help, care and connection—not another recovery timetable.
Guaranteed Leave
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Three-year leave available to every mother, including those outside conventional employment relationships.
Reliable Respite
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Predictable, recurring relief in which another trusted adult assumes responsibility for care, rather than leaving her on call.
Condition · 03
Economic Security
Recovery should not require hardship.
Can she move through postpartum and matrescence—and return to paid work and public life—without losing income, security, access to care or future opportunity?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Guaranteed Income
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Full replacement of pre-birth earnings for the first year, with an option for income-supported time through the child’s third birthday and a dignified income floor for mothers without dependable prior earnings.
Earnings & Role Protection
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
A return with earnings, role, progression and future opportunity protected, without maternity-related penalties.
Care Without Cost
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Support free at the point of use and genuinely within reach, including the practical arrangements needed to receive it.
Condition · 04
Maternal Mental Health
Safe to tell the truth.
Is her mental health seen, supported and followed up on—and is she safe to tell the truth about her life and experience?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Competent Care
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Individualized, whole-person, dyad-centered care that understands matrescence and attends to the circumstances shaping her wellbeing.
Stigma-Free Support
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Care without shame or blame. A mother should not have to perform wellness, gratitude or “good motherhood” to deserve support.
Safety Without Surveillance
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Care that protects privacy, autonomy and trust, avoiding unnecessary monitoring and punitive responses. Confidentiality and circumstances requiring protective action must be explained clearly.
Condition · 05
Reverence
Dignity. Agency. Influence.
Does she have dignity, agency and real influence over the care she receives and the systems that shape her life?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Dignity
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Recognition of her inherent worth, protection from mistreatment, and an accessible path to remedy when her rights are violated.
Agency
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Clear information, meaningful options and ongoing informed consent. Her questions, refusals and changes of mind deserve respect.
Influence
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Paid, accessible participation with consequential voting power. The proposed standard calls for at least half of relevant voting seats to be held by mothers or primary caregivers, with mothers holding a clear majority in maternity-focused bodies.
Part I · Five pillars
Conditions.
What cultures uphold. What systems provide.
Five pillars examine the structures and commitments surrounding a mother. Each brings the proposed Matrèsa Standard into conversation with international guidance and selected examples of policy or practice.
Condition · 01
Load
Visible work. Invisible responsibility.
How much invisible, unpaid work and responsibility does she carry—at home and in her head?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Invisible Labor
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
The small, recurring practical tasks that sustain family life. Explore who does the work, what remains uncovered, and whether support creates real relief.
Mental Load
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
The work of anticipating, remembering, planning and following through. Task completion is not the same as freedom from responsibility.
Emotional Load
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
The work of responding to feelings, managing expectations and maintaining connection. Distinguish emotional work from the distress a mother reports.
Condition · 02
Strain
Constant demands. Cumulative toll.
Is she experiencing exhaustion, overwhelm or mental distress—and is there space to recover?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Burnout
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Look beyond continued functioning to persistent exhaustion, the experience of parenting, demands on her capacity and dependable opportunities for recovery.
Depression
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Attend to sadness, emptiness, loss of pleasure and the effort of everyday life. Screening scores should connect to appropriate care, practical support and follow-up—not determine whether she deserves attention.
Anxiety
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Explore persistent worry, vigilance and restrictions on daily life, alongside the conditions that make her feel unsafe or unsupported. Practical changes and clinical care can both matter.
Condition · 03
Confidence
Inherent capability. Steady authority.
Does she trust her abilities as a mother and feel able to make choices that are true to herself?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Self-Efficacy
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Trust that she can learn, respond, adapt and obtain useful support—not certainty that she will always know what to do.
Intuition
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Space to express and explore her perceptions alongside other knowledge. Trusting herself can coexist with uncertainty, new evidence and reconsideration.
Courage
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Freedom to act on her values despite fear or pressure, without making exceptional self-advocacy a condition of respectful care.
Condition · 04
Identity
Connected to who she is. Open to who she is becoming.
Is she able to experience her identity as her own and be recognized as a whole person beyond her role as a mother?
Reading lenses: Matrèsa Standard / Global Guidance / Leading Example
Coherence
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
A meaningful connection between who she was and who she is now, with room for uncertainty and change within her own story.
Integration
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Motherhood belonging within a whole sense of self, alongside relationships, needs, interests and ambitions beyond caregiving.
Becoming
Proposed Matrèsa Standard · Condensed
Time, resources and recognition to explore who she is becoming—without a deadline, prescribed destination or demand to make every interest productive.
Context & accountability
How to read
the Index.
Evidence and ambition are not the same.
The Matrèsa Standards are the author’s proposals for maternal care, protection and support—not claims about what is universally provided, required or appropriate. Proposed measurement directions are starting points for further research, not established or validated Matrèsa instruments.
A global lens, not a country ranking.
This first edition draws on selected guidance, research and examples. A country example illustrates a particular provision; it does not mean that country meets the full Matrèsa Standard. Formal provision also does not establish whether support reaches mothers in practice.
A period of provision is not a deadline for becoming.
Timeframes for care, leave and income protection describe proposed or existing provisions. They do not prescribe the duration of matrescence or the pace at which a woman should recover or adapt.
A perspective to examine and develop.
The framework reflects Amanda Wilde’s interpretation, lived experience and vision—not a consensus among mothers, researchers or practitioners. Its relevance across contexts requires further examination, with mothers involved in challenging, refining and developing it.
About the author
Amanda Wilde is an independent researcher, writer and founder of Matrèsa and WildeResearch.org. Her work focuses on matrescence, maternal wellbeing and the conditions shaping women’s experiences of becoming mothers. This publication was independently developed and funded by the author.
The complete publication
Read it in full.
This website is a condensed editorial companion to the first edition. Read the complete report for the detailed standards, guidance, country examples, available measures, limitations and source references.
The public PDF link has not yet been added to this draft.
Wilde, A. (2026). Matrèsa Index 2026: A global lens on the conditions for and experience of matrescence. First edition.