WHAT'S 'BABY BRAIN' ALL ABOUT?

We've all heard of of the term 'baby brain' and I'm sure everyone reading this can relate - either having gone through it themselves, or having been exposed to it. I never really thought of it in terms of changes occurring in my brain per se. But why did this 'baby brain' feel like it was still hanging around years later? What's going on with our brains in motherhood? I decided that it was time to do some research on a mother's brain anatomy.

I clearly remember having countless 'baby brain' moments during pregnancy and apologising every other sentence for forgetting something or repeating myself. As someone who would pride themselves on having a pretty good memory (for random bits of information according to my husband) I really struggled with the brain fog, and felt in a constant realm of frustration. Everyone seemed to understand though and could either relate as they had been through it themselves, or have experienced someone who had been through it. I recall a conversation with a stranger in a petrol station who empathised and proclaimed that he was an expert at dealing with the dreaded 'baby brain' as his wife had been through exactly the same. So, not only did I feel validated that everything I was experiencing was apparently normal and accepted, I knew that growing a life involved extreme hormone surges and so there was what seemed a biological reason for it.

But, what I had not taken into account what the aftermath (and that's not to mention the hair changes, body changes...the list goes on!). I naively thought that once our beautiful bundle had entered the world, and once my sleep was back on track (albeit a rather different and unpredictable track), that my brain would return to it pre-pregnancy self. Oh how wrong I was...I felt un-prepared and ill equipped to be dealing with those moments of going up the stairs and completely forgetting what it was that I had gone up there for, for feeling constantly overloaded with information, being so reliant on my 'to-do' list and alarms, and repeating myself (I can still see the awkward and shocked faces of those ladies I was sharing the same information with ~20 minutes later). I appreciate that life is busy, and as mothers we are juggling what is comparable to what a consortium of octopuses should be juggling, but I had not accounted for this to be part and parcel of the motherhood journey at this stage. Although it is comforting knowing that I am not alone in having these experiences, my inquisitiveness finally got the better of me and I wanted to actually find out what actually goes on in a woman's brain during and post pregnancy.

After trawling through many scientific papers (I felt as though I had taken a step back in time to when I studied Biochemistry at University), there appears to be a small amount of research into the changes that occur in a woman's brain structure during pregnancy and postpartum (after childbirth). There are many animal studies done but few human studies - unsurprisingly. It's an area that is evolving, but requires further research.

I did find two papers that were of particular interest and worthy of mention. A study carried out in 2017 that concluded "pregnancy renders substantial changes in brain structure, primarily reductions in gray matter (GM) volume in regions subserving social cognition" (Hoekzema et al. 2017). These changes were present for at least two years after birth and have been associated with maternal attachment towards the baby. To see whether these changes had been maintained or returned to pre-pregnancy levels six years after childbirth, another neuroimaging study was executed. It found that most of the grey matter volume reductions did persist six years later (Martínez-García, M et al. 2021). Although it is not entirely clear why grey matter is lost during pregnancy it is thought that the remodelling may be playing a role in helping women transition into motherhood. Creating more specialised neural networks to help adapt to our new roles, and being able to respond to the needs of our babies.

Summary: - There are substantial changes in the brain structure during pregnancy and post childbirth.

- These modifications are triggered by hormonal fluctuations and were detectable six years after childbirth.

- These changes play a critical role in maternal care and is nature's way of ensuring we adapt to the needs of our child.

So, it appears that our brains have gone through big and long-lasting changes. We have had to adapt in order to contend with new adaptive and cognitive problems that come with the challenges of motherhood. Our bodies are beautifully and wonderfully made to adapt for our children, to nurture and help them develop optimally. If it means having to pay the price of having to endure some repetition and rely on our 'to-do' lists more often, then so be it, because fundamentally we are impressive and our babes are glorious miracles.

References:

Hoekzema E, Barba-Müller E, Pozzobon C, Picado M, Lucco F, García-García D, Soliva JC, Tobeña A, Desco M, Crone EA, Ballesteros A, Carmona S, Vilarroya O. Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure. Nat Neurosci. 2017 Feb;20(2):287-296. doi: 10.1038/nn.4458. Epub 2016 Dec 19. PMID: 27991897.

Martínez-García, M.; Paternina-Die, M.; Barba-Müller, E.; Martín de Blas, D.; Beumala, L.; Cortizo, R.; Pozzobon, C.; Marcos-Vidal, L.; Fernández-Pena, A.; Picado, M.; et al. Do PregnancyInduced Brain Changes Reverse? The Brain of a Mother Six Years after Parturition. Brain Sci. 2021, 11, 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci 11020168. 4