“Pregnancy brain” is real? Study finds structural changes in mothers-to-be may support bonding
The long-used phrase “pregnancy brain,” often used to describe forgetfulness or mental fog during pregnancy, may reflect real neurological changes, according to new research examining how pregnancy affects the brain, a Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, analyzed brain scans from 127 pregnant women before, during and after pregnancy and compared them with scans from women who were not pregnant.
The results showed that pregnancy is associated with measurable structural changes in the brain, including a reduction in grey matter volume. Grey matter, which plays a key role in processing information, emotions and empathy, decreased by an average of nearly 5% during pregnancy, the study reported.
Scientists say the changes do not necessarily indicate cognitive decline and may instead represent neurological adaptations linked to the transition to motherhood. The team also observed that the degree of brain change was associated with how strongly participants reported bonding with their newborns after birth.
“We show that pregnancy is associated with pronounced and long-lasting GM volume reductions in a woman's brain, which are primarily located in regions involved in social processes and show a notable similarity to the theory-of-mind network. Notably, all of the women could be classified as having undergone pregnancy or not on the basis of the volume changes across sessions. In addition, we demonstrate that these GM volume reductions are located in some of the brain regions that show the strongest response to the women's babies in a postpartum fMRI task. Furthermore, the GM volume changes of pregnancy predict measures of postpartum mother-to-child attachment and hostility," the researchers wrote in their findings.
According to the researchers, the reduction in grey matter may be partly linked to hormonal changes during pregnancy, particularly rising estrogen levels. The study also found that some grey matter volume returned after birth, although recovery remained partial six months postpartum.
“The current findings indicate that human pregnancy is associated with substantial long-lasting alterations in brain structure, which may serve an adaptive purpose for the transition into motherhood,” the study concludes.
Researchers say further studies are needed to better understand how the brain changes during pregnancy and how these processes may relate to maternal well-being, including conditions such as postpartum depression.
Earlier, a separate study found that receiving a COVID-19 vaccine shortly before or during pregnancy was not associated with autism or developmental disorders in young children.