Mumnesia, preg head, baby brain. Call it what you like, but a new study says the popular belief that pregnancy reduces memory is a myth.
Published in the latest issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, the study, led by Helen Christensen at the Australian National University, found no evidence that pregnancy or motherhood affects a women’s brain power.
According to the Times Online, the findings contradict previous studies claiming that women’s brains decline in size by up to 4 per cent while they are pregnant, potentially leading to worse performance on tests of memory and verbal skills.
“Professor Christensen’s team recruited 1,241 women aged 20-24 in 1999 and 2003 and asked them to perform a series of tasks. The women were followed up at four-year intervals and asked to perform the same cognitive tests. A total of 77 women were pregnant at the follow-up assessments, 188 had become mothers [but were not pregnant at the time of the interviews] and 542 remained childless. The researchers found no significant differences in cognitive change for women who were pregnant and those who were not.”
I most definately went a bit dim during my pregnancies but I put it down to having to concentrate on walking without being able to see my feet, trying to battle with gravity and being completely exhausted!
Pregnancy may not cause a reduction in memory function, but I would think the sleep deprivation that accompanies pregnancy and looking after a baby does.
damn! i fergot to get pregnant!
What’s my excuse now then?
I’m positive that if they had tested the mothers in the first few weeks after giving birth they would’ve had a different result. Not only because the newborn = lack of sleep thing, but the huge hormonal surge makes it impossible to concentrate on normal tasks. I wore clothes back-to-front, forgot what it was I was meant to be doing (I once found myself cleaning the bathroom until I remembered why I was there – it was to go to the loo!), and when I was asked for an *actual decision* it felt like I was being pressurised. I was fine, if a bit grumpy, throughout the pregnancy itself.
If this is true, why is it the pregnant women on the Jeremy Kyle show can never remember how many men they’ve slept with?
- they were just as dim before hand?! – Phillis
Very good Phillis. What about the myth of not eating for two but one when pregnan? From what I remember I was devouring whole chickens and icebergs.
- Pah! I can do a whole chocolate gateaux in 11 minutes without vomiting and I’m not pregnant – Phillis
LOL! Oh, my god .. And that \’s how they decided that it didn\’t effect the brain (the processes in there)????
Geez, they should loose their title for sure … that\’s not research. And def. does not say a damn thing about the brain. Ofcourse people will respond differently to those things when volunteering in a project. It\’s about being alone at home .. in their normal environment .. that\’s when the brain processes may work different in quite a few during pregnancy. You get boosted out of your body cells in a way (same as when you\’ve stuffed yourself to the max), a bit numb therefor (emotions, the deeper type, come from downstairs ..body vs brain chemistry). This can trigger better brain processes (cold/clear psyche .completely numbed but hey .. )but can cause slightly apathic state for sure as well (that\’s coming with that type of psyche
Now that’s impressive!
Perhaps forgetfulness explains why many woman become pregnant in the first place, thereby predisposing many pregnant ladies to poor memory performance and general folly.
Whilst I am not with child, I did forget to spell “women” with an “e”. I hang my head in shame.
I’m 7 months preg and am vague, forgetful and confused on a daily basis! However, I always assumed that ‘baby brain’ was down to exhaustion, hormones plus massive physical changes that happen! Oh, also I can eat for at least FIVE! Never mind two lol!
What if it’s just women being distracted by ‘more important thoughts’? I mean, if you’re going to do a test, scientific or educational, you’ll probably be focusing on that. But in day to day life there might be more important things to think about (i.e. the baby) than whatever it is they’re forgetting… So it would not mean a decrease in brain capacity (as their performance on the test shows), just a decrease in paying attention (in day to day life) because there’s now something more important to pay attention to.
Obviously confirmation bias will also play *some* role. Like my mum who had a phase of being sure she was getting the first symptoms of dementia… This was years ago, and she’s still fine. She was just so scared that every little thing she forgot was suddenly due to the ‘dementia’, when it was just normally forgetting stuff.
I’ve been on the ropes about this issue. I have had a lot of pregnant clients that have confessed about their memory loss. They call it pregnancy brain. Interesting name I know, but I’m glad this study proved it one way or another.