Pregnancy is a unique and unforgettable stage. During this stage, a series of changes take place in the woman to make room for the new life that is developing within her. Physical changes are usually discussed but not discussed how pregnancy affects a woman's brain. And there are not only physical but also emotional and mental changes. Today we want to focus on these very important changes and see the changes that occur in the brain.
Changes in the mother's brain
A recent study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience has gambled on how pregnancy affects a woman's brain. The study was conducted with evidence of MRI for 5 years in 25 women before and after getting pregnant. Specifically, 3 MRIs were performed: one before becoming pregnant, another after 2 months after giving birth, and another at 2 years of age. The same tests were also performed on parents and control groups.
The study was conducted in both women who had become pregnant naturally and those who achieved it through fertility treatment, to see if there was any difference. The results were the same in both situations, and revealed that the woman's brain is affected by pregnancy. Specifically the brain decreases in some areas, especially in gray matter, an area associated with social relationships. It is the area related to empathy.
This decrease in gray matter would have a adaptive function, facilitating more contact with the baby to take better care of him, be more attentive and more empathetic, reducing rationality in other areas. Emotions are more on the surface, which allows us to detect possible threats and protect the baby.
That is, lmind also prepares for new life that is to come. The results of the parents' MRIs showed that there was no change in their brains. From what we can affirm that these changes are due to the effect of hormones, the physical and functional changes that women have during pregnancy.
How does this affect women?
These changes at the mental level They do not imply a reduction of the mother's mental capacities, but quite the opposite. It does not affect memory, intellect or other brain functions, but optimizes other brain connections. They are, it could be said, a readaptation of resources, a neural pruning where the expendable is eliminated to prepare us to take care of the baby as well as possible. Now resources will be child-centered to protect and bond with the baby. There is another vital moment where this pruning also occurs and it is in adolescence.
During pregnancy our visual and olfactory system improves, and our capacity for learning and memory. This allows our maternal skills to increase and be optimized, to adapt and sensitize ourselves to the new demands that a baby is going to place on us. This does not mean that women's brains are better, but that it is adapted to your new demands.
Approximately after two years after delivery The same tests were carried out on the same women and it was found that the changes were still present. Arguably, pregnancy changes the mother's brain structures forever. Now the phrase "my son has changed my life" has another dimension.
If you suffer from distractions during pregnancy, do not worry, it is something more common than it seems. It's called mumnesia, and it's the amnesia of pregnant women. It is explained by the hormonal changes to which the woman's body is exposed during pregnancy. If you want to know more about the subject you can read our article on the "Mummy: the amnesia of mothers."
Because remember ... there is still much to investigate in the field of the brain and its adaptive function in the different stages of our life.