Gifts for New Moms, Reimagined: A conversation with Lucy Jones

A conversation about becoming a mother, and why care matters so much

When someone searches for gifts for new moms, they’re doing something kind.

They want to show up.
They want to mark a moment.
They want to say, I see you.

But becoming a mother isn't just a moment. It’s a season of change that's emotional, physical, and deeply personal - one that many women move through quietly, without much language or support.

That transition has a name: matrescence.

Matrescence describes the experience of becoming a mother and the identity shift that unfolds alongside the physical realities of pregnancy, birth, and early caregiving. It’s a word many mothers instinctively recognize the first time they hear it, even if they’ve never had a name for what they’re feeling.

I recently had the chance to talk with author and journalist Lucy Jones about her book Matrescence, and about what mothers need during this tender season of becoming.

Why Modern Motherhood Can Feel So Isolating

Lucy shared that one of the biggest realizations for her while researching and writing Matrescence was how much of modern motherhood is both shaped and strained by the social structures around us.

For most of human history, children were raised within a village. Care was shared. Mothers were surrounded by other adults, other hands, other rhythms.

Today, many women are expected to mother in isolation, often with intense expectations and very little support. Our nervous systems, Lucy explains, haven’t evolved for this kind of solitary caregiving.

When motherhood feels overwhelming, it’s not because something is wrong with mothers. It’s because the way we expect people to raise families has drifted far from what humans actually need.

Motherhood Is Not Just Personal, It’s Social

When we talk about motherhood only as a personal experience, we miss the bigger picture.

Lucy points to the maternal health crisis as a reflection of this. Rising maternal mortality rates, unequal outcomes across racial and socioeconomic lines, and inadequate parental leave policies all raise the same question:

What does it say about a society if we don’t properly care for the people bringing new life into it?

When caregiving isn’t valued, the consequences ripple outward into health, mental wellbeing, family stability, and community life.

Matrescence isn’t just something individual mothers experience. It’s something our systems either support or fail to support.

To the Mothers Who Feel Overwhelmed

One of the most powerful parts of Lucy’s work is how plainly she names what so many mothers feel.

Feeling isolated.
Feeling overwhelmed.
Feeling unsure of yourself in the early years.

Lucy is clear: these feelings are a normal and understandable response to the demands placed on mothers today.

Yes, it often gets easier with time.
Yes, the fog can lift.

But it shouldn’t be this hard and you are far from alone.

Sometimes, simply hearing that can make a difference.

The Quiet Impact of Small Acts of Care

Lucy shared a story that many mothers recognize immediately: a moment of unexpected kindness from a stranger that changed the tone of a difficult day.

An older woman bending down to tie a shoelace.
A brief exchange of empathy.
A reminder that someone sees you.

These moments don’t solve systemic problems. But they offer something just as important in the moment: connection.

For new mothers especially, small acts of care can land deeply. They remind us that support doesn’t always have to be grand to be meaningful.

Holding Power and Vulnerability at the Same Time

If Lucy could shift one thing about how society views and supports motherhood, it would be this:

An understanding that becoming a mother is both powerful and vulnerable.

Most cultures throughout history have recognized this duality. They’ve surrounded mothers with care during this transition, not because mothers are weak, but because the work of caregiving is profound.

Modern culture often expects women to carry this season alone.

But matrescence reminds us that becoming a mother is not something to rush through or “bounce back” from. It’s a process of becoming and one that deserves time, care, and compassion.

Rethinking Gifts for New Moms

So what does all of this mean if you’re trying to support a new mother?

It means that the most meaningful gifts are rarely about checking a box. They’re about acknowledging what she’s moving through.

The gifts that tend to matter most:

• recognize the emotional transition, not just the baby
• offer comfort and presence
• say you don’t have to do this alone

This philosophy is at the heart of Caring for Mama, a brand created to offer care during life’s most tender transitions, starting with motherhood.

If you’re choosing a gift for a new mom explore our care boxes designed to support mothers through this transition, and consider not just what she’ll open, but what might help her feel supported in the days and weeks that follow.

A Closing Thought

Matrescence reminds us that motherhood is not a single moment to celebrate and move past. It’s a becoming. And becoming deserves care.