EP.56|FROM LONELINESS TO EMPOWERMENT: KENYAN MOTHERS BREAKING TOXIC CYCLES| GLADYS KANGAU|POSTPARTUM IS FOREVER

*** TRIGGER WARNING ***This episode includes topics and themes around forced arranged marriages of girls as young as 14, female genital mutilation, domestic control, gender-based abuse and poverty.Please use care when listening to the content.In this episode, I speak with a Kenyan-born woman named Gladys, who shares her deeply personal transition into motherhood. Gladys expresses the despair she felt around the circumstances of her life at the time, something she describes as "falling off a high cliff" and plunging into the depths of shame, grief and loneliness.With time, love and sheer determination, Gladys picked herself up after each hard fall, and found a way to move forward with resilience. Through self-discovery, she stumbled on a word that offered meaning and understanding to what she was feeling.This word is Matrescence.In this conversation, Glady's describes the significance of this word, and how understanding the transformational process of becoming a mother brings validation, peace, and empowerment to mothers worldwide.She couldn't hold back in talking about this and so as a maternal coach and matrescence activist, Gladys has made it her life's work, to help other Kenyan mums also receive this gift, through the power of community amongst women.However, what I found most eye-opening about this conversation was her recount of the unique challenges, and in fact, injustices that is the reality for many women from her home country, and so I share a trigger warning that this conversation includes topics and themes around forced arranged marriages of girls as young as 14, female genital mutilation, domestic control, gender-based abuse and poverty.This is hard to hear. But it has to be told. For the women that are suffering who do not have a voice that's listened to.But, I want to reassure that this episode is filled with heart, awareness, hope and determination to make a difference in the lives of mothers around the world.After listening to this episode, I invite you to journal your thoughts, what you are most grateful for in your own mothering, and please do reach out if you need to talk or receive support.Connect with Gladys:https://www.instagram.com/motherhood_unscripted/Postpartum is Forever Podcast:https://www.instagram.com/postpartum_is_forever_podcast/Mama rising ambassador foundation:https://mamarising.net/global-matrescence/#moreThank you for joining us in celebrating the incredible journey of motherhood and the transformational power of matrescence. Remember, you are never alone, and your experience is valid and vital.