S1E1 - Reclaiming Part 1: Navigating Postpartum Identity, Cultural Identity, and Self-Reclamation (w/ Vanessa Leveille)
What you’ll hear:
00:05:00 - “I did not want to lose myself in motherhood”… Vanessa talks about staying true to her sense of self and learning that motherhood is actually an expansion of who she has always been. Are you feeling lost in motherhood?
00:10:00 - Emotional triggers in postpartum… How lived experiences and cultural contexts can bring out new emotions. Reclaiming parts of you that have been buried. What can you learn and how can you heal through motherhood?
00:15:00 - Pushing through… Vanessa describes the pressures that she felt to power through the challenges of postpartum, for the sake of appearing to “be okay.” How do you allow yourself to heal and progress well?
00:20:00 - “OMG! I sound like my mother”… Jovia describes how she has seen her different cultural experiences show up in her over the years. Are you “re-adopting” your cultural customs, mother tongue, or accent?
00:25:00 - “Mothering Together”… Vanessa unpacks her wrestle against the pressures of mothering according to societal demands, while appreciating the cultural inputs of her Afro-Cape Verdean roots. What about your heritage to do want to include in raising your children?
00:30:00 - Mothering on your terms… Vanessa talks about being okay with doing things differently. How can you mother in a way that’s authentically you?
00:35:00 - Communal mothering… Vanessa and Jovia discuss matriarchal cultures, where the community gathers around the new mom and baby, nurturing them simultaneously. Are you part of a village that supports and nurtures new mothers?
00:40:00 - Standing in the gap for moms… Jovia and Vanessa talk about how family and friends rallied around Vanessa after the birth of her son, creating a fertile environment for her rest and healing. Who’s a new mom that you can support?
00:45:00 - Postpartum Healing… Jovia and Vanessa continue to reminisce about the support and love that Vanessa received and how every birth moving forward is incomplete without it. With whom will you share this episode?
Join Vanessa Leveille and me on the Chez Nenen Podcast as we delve into the multifaceted journey of motherhood, identity, and cultural influences. This episode, 'Reclaiming,' explores themes of self-reclamation, the expansion of self post-motherhood, and the unique challenges and beauty of mothering within immigrant cultures.
Vanessa, an Afro-Cape Verdean therapist and coach, shares insights on matrescence and reclaiming buried parts of oneself, while I, a Haitian-American woman, resonate with the feeling of being 'more me than ever before' after becoming a mother. Our conversation highlights the communal aspect of mothering in Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Cape Verdean cultures, contrasting it with the more isolated American approach.
Discover how shifts in life, like moving and navigating cultural identities, contribute to personal growth and self-discovery in motherhood. Perfect for mothers, women of color, and anyone interested in maternal mental health, identity, culture, and the transformative power of matrescence.
Key themes and insights from the conversation include:
Motherhood as a Journey of Self-Reclamation and Expansion: Vanessa, a therapist and coach specializing in matrescence, discusses how becoming a mother involves both a loss of previous self and an expansion into a bigger, more authentic version of oneself. She emphasizes "self-reclamation" as unburying the buried parts of oneself that have been conditioned or lost. I resonate with this, sharing my own experiences of feeling "more me than ever before" after becoming a mother and in different life stages.
Cultural Context of Mothering: Both Vanessa, an Afro-Cape Verdean woman and I, a Haitian-American woman, discuss the impact of their immigrant cultures on their mothering experiences. We highlight the communal aspect of mothering in our respective cultures, where multiple generations and extended family members are involved in raising children. We contrast this with the more isolated, patriarchal, and capitalist American approach to motherhood.
The Concept of "Afro-Cape Verdean": Vanessa explains her decision to identify as "Afro-Cape Verdean," emphasizing the African roots and appearance of her family and culture, rather than solely "Cape Verdean American," due to the history of Portuguese colonization. I dive into the complexities of being Black with immigrant upbringings in America.
Up Next: Join me NEXT month, when Vanessa and I continue our conversation, focusing on her work with postpartum moms as a matrescence expert and therapist. (Airs August 1, 2025)
