Is Mom Brain a Real Thing?

How and why pregnancy alters the brain

Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

I already knew the answer to this question, but I wondered if there was any real evidence to support the claim that pregnancy and motherhood really do alter your brain. It doesn’t seem like a huge leap when you consider how much the process of pregnancy alters the body, it’s dramatic and noticeable, why wouldn’t the pregnant brain also be transformed?

If anecdotal evidence or personal testimony weren’t proof enough that “mom brain” was indeed a real phenomenon, consider this 2016 study measuring the physical changes that happen in women’s brains during pregnancy. The specific re-sculpting of the pregnant brain showed a reduction in gray matter lasting for as long as 2 years.

Pregnancy resculpts women's brains for at least 2 years

When I read this “proof” I was not surprised but intrigued. Even more intriguing was that lead author of the study, Elseline Hoekzema, neuroscientist and then pregnant mother to a two year old, suggests that “Gray matter volume loss can also represent a beneficial process of maturation or specialization.”