'Baby brain' myth debunked
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A new study has found that women's brains do not go to mush during pregnancy and motherhood.
Despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary, the study by the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University in Canberra found no evidence of long-term cognitive decline.
The project followed 2,500 women aged between 20 and 24, for eight years.
More than 200 of them became mothers in that time.
Research leader Professor Helen Christensen says women's perceptions of the brain function is not reflected in the tests.
"I think emotional factors are likely to influence self report, what people think, but in the actual reality of the objective test performance, that perception is in this case misguided," she said.
However, Professor Christensen says the research found that young mothers did risk becoming less well educated.
"We found no effects of pregnancy on cognitive capacity and motherhood also had no detrimental effects," she said.
"One thing we did observe was that women who have children become marginally less well educated than women who don't have children in their 20s.
"While this is hardly surprising, as having children will interrupt education, it is something to watch in the future as early mothers may be disadvantaged later on if they do not continue with further training."
Professor Christensen says the study was only able to look at the effects of motherhood over a relatively short time and she hopes future human data will align with findings about mother rats.
"Rodent data shows that mother rats have improved multi-skilling capacity and less fear responses than non-mothers," she said.
"The rat data suggests that mother rats navigate mazes more efficiently, have less anxiety and fear and excel at multi-skilling.
"That sounds to me like almost every mother I know and I hope that the human effects eventually mirror those findings."
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Comments (27)
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Jack:
10 Oct 2008 12:36:19pm
Sure there's no "long-term cognitive decline."
But my wife (BSc(Hon), PhD) will tell you in the short-term she had some cognitive problems. It was all part of the fun of having a new kid.
And she doesn't like the "rat" references in this story.Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Root:
10 Oct 2008 1:02:06pm
I can concur with Jack's post... my wife did experience some problems - some of which she noticed, some of which she didn't - like several times she forgot she was holding a glass full of liquid!
Everybody should realise just how much work a woman's mind and body is doing during pregnancy - building new people ain't as simple as a nice dinner, Fench champange, and satin sheets.
Boy, am I glad I got the pointy bit!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Jeremy:
10 Oct 2008 2:17:52pm
Anecdotal evidence is pretty meaningless. Such behaviour can easily be explained by assuming women who are pregnant are distracted by their pregnancy, rather than any kind of physiological reason for their behaviour.
It's also probably likely that many false positives are created because it's easy to blame irrational or forgetful behaviour on being pregnant, while dismissing the behaviour when not.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Tish:
10 Oct 2008 12:41:57pm
I have to say that I felt as if my brain turned to jelly while I was pregnant; but at last here are some findings that support what every mother knows - that we're good at juggling all the balls of everyone elses life, as well as our own (sometimes at some cost to our own), while men just go about being the breadwinner and generally chest beating!
I wonder if it's significant that the researcher is a woman? Surely not?Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Nenad:
10 Oct 2008 2:23:40pm
Interesting choice of words Tish :o) Still, I do agree that women do not have it easy. Men can not comprehend whats it like to have something the size of a watermellon go through an opening the size of an almond (yes i know. just go with the gist of what i am saying). So putting up with a bit of emotion is a lot better than what the poor ladies must go through. Some would say that women never forgive men for making them give birth...it would sure explain for a lot :o)
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Juggler:
10 Oct 2008 12:44:39pm
It's not so much the brain going to mush, it the fact you are juggling so many more things than when you didn't have children.
That not knowing when something is on or forgetting things or not remembering phone number like you would have pre children gives the impression that the brain no longer works as well.
Celebrate what you are doing and don't worry if it is not what you used to be able to do, chances are you can do and remember a lot more than you use to.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Mandy:
10 Oct 2008 12:54:17pm
I certainly found it a lot easier to think after my babies arrived, although while feeding them, I could barely string a sentence together.
Online study is a great option for any mother: keeps the skills up and gives you a bit of time for yourself. Hey, it's true about the multi-skilling and multi-tasking.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Shelli:
10 Oct 2008 12:57:45pm
Towards the end of my third pregnancy I went to a department store and was given a form to fill in for a lay-buy and was distressed and embarrassed to find that I could not remember my own name.
This effect did not last, so no there is no long term effect.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Kathy:
10 Oct 2008 1:00:34pm
I suppose there are always individual events of "baby brain" in each pregnancy (I put a packet of carrots in the freezer instead of the fridge at one time). These episodes of vagueness could just as easily be put down to increased tiredness, hormones, or morning sickness. The ambiguous statement was the one about " young mothers did risk becoming less well educated". Do we suddenly become slightly less intelligent when we give birth, giving away some of our brain power to our offspring?
(yes, I do realise that if you read down the article a little it explains the whole thing.)Agree (0) Alert moderator
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cupofcoffee:
10 Oct 2008 1:01:59pm
Just look at any football or cricket match when beer drinking was allowed by the many men who followed both games.....then you could actually SEE brains turned to mush.
The "effects of motherhood" are mainly lack of sleep, too much work to do without a terrible lot of help from SOME husbands, trying to fit a whole new life into the one she already has, still having to cope with a husband who still cannot fend for himself and adjusting to being responsible for another human being in the house.
Dont talk about how new mothers brains dont function, get real and talk about how you can practically help new mothers.
Some people like to have studies......I would rather roll up my sleeves, help her in the house and let her have a sleep.......wouldn't everyone think that would be better than a study???Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Drama Vampire :
10 Oct 2008 1:14:53pm
I was one of the brigade that believed wholeheartedly that baby brain was a myth... until I got pregnant myself....
I dont know whether its cause you are so focused on that little bun in the oven to worry about the real world or there are some hormones or whatever at work but my life went to crap.
I forgot to pay bills, never knew what day it was, lost things all the time, would forget what I was supposed to be doing... but I have to say putting my mobile phone in the fridge was the funniest :-)
It does get better once its born and you can get more than a few hours sleep at a stretch!!!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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NicF:
10 Oct 2008 1:36:54pm
I think you summed it up with the last sentence there -
I suggest a good study would be putting a group of guys through the same expected sleep hours as a soon-to-be-mum and see how coherent and intelligent they are on that level of sleep.
Of course, if you could replicate the hormonal and stress levels as well, it'd be even more accurate, but I honestly think that's pretty much 100% of what's causing the so called 'Baby Brain'..Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Heb:
10 Oct 2008 2:24:48pm
Totally agree! Just posted pretty much the same thing below.
A combination of poor sleep, 'stress-less' hormones, and a preoccupation with the impending birth of their child is the reason some pregnant woman appear vague! I think there is a difference between being vague sometimes and cognitive functioning.
I have a 6 week old and I can assure you sleep deprivation most certainly affects mental functioning!!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Action:
10 Oct 2008 1:35:53pm
I agree there appears to be no long term affect to my wife after her 4th child but during all her pregnancies she has had difficulties putting sentences together. All the right words just in the wrong order, it only happens when she is pregnant. Her obsteatrician told the story of his wife putting the electric kettle on the stove top to boil it when she was pregnant. So there is enough anecdotal evidence for me that show that their are short term effects to the brain during pregnancy.
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Kate:
10 Oct 2008 1:58:19pm
Babybrain is definitely real, I think most women who have children would agree. However I have never heard of it being suggested previously that the effects are permanent. Everything I've read stated that it goes away once the baby reaches a less dependant stage. From my personal experience I believe this is the case.
Most likely it is the effect of hormones produced during pregnancy and breastfeeding.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Newdad:
10 Oct 2008 2:35:35pm
My partner is 6 months pregnant and she reckons she's as silly as a wheel !
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Shan:
10 Oct 2008 2:04:38pm
I'm 36 weeks pregnant, and would term myself fairly eloquent, but baby brain is real! You forget what you're doing, saying, simple instructions....it is pretty annoying. You end up looking like a bit of a ditz! At least it will go away when the baby comes...right?? Right???
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Heb:
10 Oct 2008 2:38:08pm
Honey I can tell you now, myself with a 6 week old, it gets worse... much worse... :) The sleep deprivation is so very hard so enjoy your sleep now, even if you think it's poor - it's not!
But on the flip side they are totally worth it!! Lucky we are programmed to fall in love with our own babies! It makes these sleepless nights with razor sore nipples and a screaming baby all worth it!!! Still it's the best thing I've ever done :)Agree (0) Alert moderator
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mumofone:
10 Oct 2008 2:05:03pm
"A new study has found that women's brains do not go to mush during pregnancy and motherhood."
I and every biological mother I know would disagree.
During pregnancy and lactation (breastfeeding) a woman's brain definitely changes! I personally found I was no longer an analytical creature, I was far more emotional in my reactions to everything and some thought processes vanished! For a year. They came back though.
I'd happily support that as a result of post-birth motherhood human mothers are better able to juggle multiple tasks. We're more likely to try to as well! Dunno about the rats...Agree (0) Alert moderator
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amphib:
10 Oct 2008 2:08:23pm
map skills are a good indicator here.
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tess:
10 Oct 2008 2:09:21pm
Having given birth to three babies I dont remember going to 'mush'. If anything the opposite is true. I believe there is a natural response to situations that might stress the unborn baby but it is hardly 'mush'.
Having said that I can remember doing some stupid things like chasing and catching a sheep that noone else could catch in an open paddock. I was about seven months pregnant. The sheep went down and so did I. Everyone was astonished, but I was ok and so was the sheep. Or climbing up the side of the tank stand to fill the tank, about 15 feet up the scaffolding. That was with a couple of weeks to go. The day I was due I had the lawn mower out cutting the grass. Its no wonder I gave birth to exceptional children. They walked at 10-11 months, could string a few words together at 12 months and are great athletes.
There is no doubt having a baby changes your life forever. The most wonderful feeling in my life was when the first baby was being born. I suddenly understood what a mothers love is. It all became very clear and through thick and thin I will protect my children forever unconditionally.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Heb:
10 Oct 2008 2:18:36pm
I am a new mum with a 6 week old bub. I have to say though I worked until 37 weeks of pregnancy in the Emergency Department of the local hospital and didn't notice any difference in mental functioning. In fact I felt like a I was calmer in emergency situations which helped me think clearer. All those chill-out hormones! :)
Perhaps the only slight thing I noticed a few times was a slight difficulty in short term retention of numbers ie. would take a set of vital signs, walk out of a cubicle and have to go back and view the monitor memory to recall them! I think it was more related to poor sleep and having to work shift work though.
However at the moment wiith the sleep deprivation of looking after a newborn I can ABSOLUTELY say that my mental functioning is poorer! I'm lucky this is relatively coherent! :)
I think maybe that mental functioning isn't impaired during pregnancy but rather the mind is preoccupied and all of those happy 'stress-less' hormones are circulating making a woman appear vague. Dunno just a thought! :)Agree (0) Alert moderator
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helen:
10 Oct 2008 2:21:39pm
When I was pregnant, I felt really clear-headed and able to function well and worked right up to a week before the birth. We were told in the birth preparation classes that there was a brain turns to mush syndrome associated with pregnancy and I came to the conclusion it was the theory that was mush.
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Bill Anderson:
10 Oct 2008 2:23:49pm
Of course there is no long term decline. It is short term, lasting for as long as the sleep deprivation. The increased multi-skilling is offset by the decrease in short term specialization. Leading to a slight decrease in long term experience within specialized fields. As the world evolves the increasing speed of changes within specialized fields will make it more difficult to catch up. But most women, like most men, do not work in those fields. So there will not be a significant impact upon the majority of study participants. For those in specialized, quickly evolving fields however, there will be a dramatic decline in their performance. Just as it is with all sleep deprived people. Why do they think driving tired is as dangerous as drunk driving.
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captain swing:
10 Oct 2008 2:24:15pm
This seems insulting to me. My wife seemed to suffer no ill effects as a result of the birth of our daughter. Are men's brains mush all the time?
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Clawd:
10 Oct 2008 2:34:02pm
I don't care what studies they done, baby brain is for real, I'm pregnant with my forth at the moment, I get half way through doing something and forget what it was I was doing, walk off and go do something else, I left the milk sitting on the table the other week wehn I was sure I had put it in the fridge as soon as I got back from the shops with it.
We were at Seaworld one day when I was pregnant with our third I turned in a panic asking hubby and our friends where our first daughter was, 'I'm here mama' came the reply (and laugh) from the end of my hand. And don't even ask me to type coherently right now, it's taken me about three mins just to type this.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Bill Anderson:
10 Oct 2008 2:39:56pm
It always amazes me that scientist judge cognitive abilty by navigating rats within a maze. Once a rat learns the simple principle of turning left at every intersection he will make it through. Since the rat, during this task, is exposed to little external stimuli it will do better than it would normally in the threatening outside world. The rat that has had offspring will have a greater wish to exit the maze. The rat that has not will have no real need to. After all, it's a safe place. If the scientist was being hunted every minute of every day they would understand. The cognitive abilty that is used up in sensing threats is switched to solving problems. Why do they think the majority of both well educated and intelligent people reside in stable countries.
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