Becoming a mother is not simply a role. Motherhood marks a sacred transition, one that reshapes not only the body but the mind and soul. A woman does not just give birth to a child; she gives birth to a new version of herself. This journey is often invisible to the outside world, yet it carves out deep, lasting changes in how a woman sees herself, experiences the world, and defines her identity. It is, in every sense, a rebirth.

The most obvious change is the physical rebirth. During pregnancy, your body becomes a shape-shifting wonderland. “The uterus grows, organs relocate, and even the heart gets in on the action by slightly enlarging to pump more blood,” says Dr. Chetna Jain, Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Cloudnine Hospitals. This comes with stretch marks, pelvic shifts, and a belly that might never quite bounce back. But instead of seeing these as battle scars, Dr. Jain encourages women to reframe them as sacred tattoos of transformation.

One minute you are weeping, the next you are laughing. Blame the hormones but also accept that emotions are part of the shift. “There is a new kind of love that takes root—primal, protective, overwhelming,” Dr. Jain says.

But alongside the joy, there can be grief too. Grieving your old freedoms, your pre-baby self, your last uninterrupted meal. And that is okay. “It is not either-or,” she says. “It is both. Joy and fear. Strength and vulnerability.”

There is even a name for it: matrescence. “It is the process of becoming a mother—emotionally, psychologically, spiritually,” Dr. Jain explains. Identity begins to warp and reform. Who am I now? Am I still me? You might not have time to finish a thought, let alone a novel, but you are constructing something deeper: a version of yourself with new priorities and perhaps fewer matching socks.

In the blur of sleepless nights and sterilising bottles, women often feel like they have lost themselves. Career goals feel distant, social lives dwindle, and suddenly, your idea of ‘going out’ is a solo trip to the pharmacy. But Dr. Jain reminds us: this is not a loss; it is a redefinition.

Many women, she says, rediscover creative energies, develop new ambitions, or even change their life's direction because of what motherhood has revealed to them. “It is not about replacing your old self, but integrating this new experience into who you already are,” she says.

And finally, there is the sacredness of the journey itself. Not just the birth, but the daily, mundane, heroic acts that follow: calming a screaming baby with bleary eyes, choosing empathy over frustration, showing up again and again. “Each of these moments is a quiet testament to the transformation unfolding,” says Dr. Jain. But while society is quick to celebrate the baby, the mother often fades into the background.

That needs to change. As Dr. Jain puts it, “We must honour the mother’s journey too. Because in every mother is a story of evolution that deserves space, validation, and support.”

So if you know a new mom—hug her, feed her, listen to her. Not because she’s fragile, but because she’s going through a sacred metamorphosis. A transformation that deserves more than hand-me-down advice and baby blankets. It deserves reverence.