Putting keys in the fridge, forgetting Aunt Edna\u2019s birthday, pouring juice on cereal\u2026 They\u2019re the kinds of thing you might hear of pregnant women doing \u2013 sometimes called \u2018baby brain\u2019. But is it real? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To find out, researchers at Melbourne\u2019s Deakin University looked at the results of 20 studies (known as a \u2018meta-analysis\u2019) which examined cognitive function in 709 pregnant women and 521 non-pregnant women. Their meta-analysis has been published in the Medical Journal of Australia<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe studies we analysed showed general cognitive functioning, memory and executive functioning [the ability to plan, focus, remember instructions] of pregnant women was significantly lower than in non-pregnant women\u2026 particularly during the third trimester of pregnancy,\u201d says researcher Associate Professor Linda Byrne, a psychologist and neuroscientist in Deakin\u2019s School of Psychology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo that seems to confirm a lot of what we hear anecdotally where women say they start forgetting things during pregnancy \u2013 they put the car keys in the fridge or miss appointments,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Baby brain\u2019 should not be a cause for concern, adds Associate Professor Byrne. It\u2019s simply the result of an expectant mum preparing herself for pregnancy, which is a good thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPregnant women have more important concerns than minor memory lapses,\u201d she explains. \u201cThey\u2019re growing a child and then preparing to give their full attention to caring for it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The research also showed that as soon as pregnant women are required to focus, they do. \u201cThey behaved at normal levels of cognitive function,\u201d says Associate Professor Byrne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lead researcher of the study, Sasha Davies, a PhD candidate in the School of Psychology, wants to highlight that the changes seen in the study are only small. And they\u2019re not likely to affect a woman\u2019s ability to do her job. \u201cWhile women, and perhaps their partners or immediate family members, may notice a subtle difference, it is not expected that these changes will affect an expectant mum\u2019s work performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just why \u2018baby brain\u2019 occurs remains a mystery. \u201cIt requires a bit more research to get a clear answer,\u201d says Ms Davies. \u201cThe reduction that we see in some areas of cognitive functioning during pregnancy could be due to a number of factors. For example, we know that pregnancy is associated with changes in sleep patterns, moods, stress levels and hormones.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n All of these factors, she explains, have been shown to impact cognitive functioning in other groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn more about \u2018baby brain\u2019, the Deakin researchers will continue to track women from before pregnancy, through to 12 months after birth. \u201cThis will allow us to look more closely at whether these changes are still there in the long-term, and what kind of factors might influence this,\u201d says Ms Davies. They\u2019re recruiting women in their first trimester and women who are currently trying for a baby. Interested in participating? Check out babybrainresearch.com. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms Davies says pregnant women can manage symptoms of \u2018baby brain\u2019 by: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Putting keys in the fridge, forgetting Aunt Edna\u2019s birthday, pouring juice on cereal\u2026 They\u2019re the kinds of thing you might hear of pregnant women doing \u2013 sometimes called \u2018baby brain\u2019. But is it real? To find out, researchers at Melbourne\u2019s Deakin…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions\/14"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2018No cause for concern\u2019 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why is it so? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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