‘Mum-brain’ is a real thing, but it’s by no means only a negative influence on us

We can’t think of the right words; we can’t remember what we wanted to buy in the shop, or how we wanted to finish the sentence we’d started. It’s embarrassing. The most obvious sign of maternal senility is memory loss, but let’s not be misled by this! Research shows that whilst our memory may temporarily falter, our other skills are actually beginning to flourish.

During pregnancy, but perhaps even more so during the first few years after giving birth, many mothers experience memory problems. We head into the kitchen, then look around in confusion, wondering why we came here in the first place. In the middle of a conversation, it’s as if the words slip out of our heads; we can’t finish our sentences, and often we can’t even explain our sudden confusion clearly. Our memories are hazy, our comprehension is slower, we’re exhausted and perhaps even a little ridiculous. But why is all this happening?

This phenomenon is most often explained by the social isolation that follows childbirth – that is, mothers have no contact with other adults and, amidst their child’s babbling, simply (though only temporarily) lose their wits. Undoubtedly, this sort of environmental factor can also have a significant influence, however research It has been shown that there is much more to it than that. Hormonal changes also have a significant impact on mothers’ brain function, leading, for example, to various memory problems. However, these changes are by no means solely negative, as the reorganisation of neural connections in the brain is specifically geared towards the benefit of the new arrival – to ensure its survival and development into an independent, viable individual.

What makes the memory problems typical of expectant and new mothers unique is that, unlike other memory problems, during ‘pregnancy brain’ (that really is what the phenomenon is called), only certain types of memorisation are impaired. This includes, for example, when we deliberately try to remember something: a shopping list, a sentence spoken by an acquaintance, what we had planned for dinner, or what we wanted to say to our partner before we heard the refuse lorry passing by on the street. Exactly what triggers all this remains a matter of debate to this day, but it is clear that it is closely linked to the dramatic reorganisation of brain processes during pregnancy, which ensures that the body is prepared to care for the baby. Pregnancy results in the greatest changes in women’s grey matter, where neurons connect and communicate with one another. A 2016 research It has been shown that pregnant women experience a reduction in the volume of certain parts of their grey matter, and this may be linked to the development of memory impairment. However, the researchers also revealed that whilst neural connections decrease in certain areas of the grey matter, they begin to expand in other areas.

Poorer memory, greater social sensitivity

A newborn baby is entirely dependent on the adults around it, and particularly on its mother. Its survival, its healthy physical and mental development, and the unfolding of its personality depend on the extent to which it is able to attract its mother’s attention, and on how well she is able to attune herself to it, bond with it, and understand all its little troubles and worries even without words. The reorganisation of the mother’s brain function facilitates this.

Whilst certain key areas lose some of their sensitivity as the pregnancy progresses, other skill centres – those that are most essential for caring for a child – are just beginning to become more acute. Social sensitivity increases: empathy, intuition, the ability to form bonds, and attention to and perception of the child. Whilst our attention towards the outside world generally wanes and our memory deteriorates, our focus on our baby generally strengthens. However, these skills are less noticeable to us, mainly because they were not previously of such great importance, and with the birth of a child we take them for granted. In contrast, the feeling of ‘brain fog’ is new, worrying, and – in the presence of others who do not understand the reasons behind it – embarrassing too. However, ‘pregnancy brain’ does have one significant positive benefit: it reduces the stress response. This essentially means that we worry less about things and feel less stressed; as a result, on the one hand, we can provide our baby with a sense of security with greater peace of mind, and on the other, we can respond more effectively to genuine sources of danger.

So let’s not be misled by the pejorative name given to this phenomenon; it also brings us wonderful benefits, even if our forgetfulness proves to be the most obvious and most irritating aspect. ‘Pregnancy brain’, or as it is also known, momnesia (mother + amnesia) is a real phenomenon; it is simply the way it manifests, its severity and the timing that vary from person to person. Some people do not even notice it, whilst others only pregnancy For some, this begins during pregnancy, whilst for others it starts in the third trimester and continues throughout the two years following the birth. Alongside the unpleasant symptoms, however, there are also the pleasant ones – those that are worthy of recognition and bring joy: that we become the sort of mums who understand even unspoken words, who have „eyes in the back of their heads”, who can trust her instincts, and, last but not least, who is able to create a sense of security simply with her voice.

Originally published on: divany.hu, 27 January 2021.