Karlie Rutherford is a journalist for one of Australia's biggest daily newspapers. When pregnancy complications forced her to slow down before her first daughter was born, she thought it had a silver lining: she was being placed in good stead for a life beyond deadlines and hectic schedules. Nevertheless, she was surprised by the huge identity shift motherhood brought. Karlie shares how she harnessed support from family and friends to make her postpartum relatively smooth - but how she wishes she'd known more about 'matrescence' - the transition into motherhood that's one of the most significant physical and psychological changes a woman can go through.