How matrescence and patrescence impacts new parents in the workplace and why employers should care.

Susannah Dale is the Founder of The Maternity Pledge, a social enterprise dedicated to raising awareness of matrescence and keeping mothers in the workplace.

Susannah started her career in consumer PR and later changed roles to become the co-owner of a wedding planning business, before finding herself completely and utterly floored by the transition to motherhood five years ago.

After a good dose of counselling, Susannah began talking to mothers and trawling through the internet to find out what impact motherhood was having on women, particularly on their careers. She also stumbled upon the concept of "matrescence", a term coined 50 years ago by anthropologist Dana Raphael to describe the complex and transformational process of becoming a mother. It led to the creation of The Maternity Pledge, a social enterprise that encourages companies across the UK to make workplaces as supportive as possible for pregnant employees and new mothers