"The brains of 127 pregnant women were scanned - before, during and after pregnancy - and compared to scans from a smaller number of women who were not expecting. The greater the changes in the brain, the more likely women were to say they were relating to, and bonding well, with their babies - the team of scientists found."
"This could represent the brain "rewiring" or remodelling its architecture to "prime it for motherhood", says Carmona, co-lead of the study along with Prof Oscar Vilarroya. "I like to use the metaphor of pruning a tree," she says. "Some of the branches are cut to make it grow more efficiently.""
"Rather than being a cause for concern, these changes may be beneficial when it comes to caring for newborns, say scientists working on the project in Spain. One of the dozens of women, now a new mum, who took part in the study told us she welcomed the findings and was "tired of pregnant women being infantilised"."
A large-scale study of 127 pregnant women found that pregnancy causes significant structural changes in the brain, with grey matter decreasing by approximately 5% on average. Rather than indicating cognitive impairment, these changes appear beneficial for motherhood. The research compared brain scans from pregnant women taken before, during, and after pregnancy with scans from non-pregnant women. Scientists discovered that greater brain changes correlated with stronger maternal bonding and better caregiving relationships with newborns. The neurological modifications represent a rewiring or remodeling process that primes the brain for motherhood, similar to pruning a tree to promote more efficient growth. This challenges the stereotype of "baby brain" as diminished capability.
#pregnancy-neuroscience #brain-structural-changes #maternal-bonding #grey-matter-reduction #motherhood-adaptation
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