Many women are thought to be “foggy”, “allusive” or “checked out” mentally while they are pregnant and raising their newborn baby. Now, much of this might have to do with the fact that their body has completely altered and they have very little sleep to function on. As a woman, I’d like to announce that Australian researchers have debunked the myth that women cannot think clearly while pregnant or new to motherhood. This condition has been commonly known as “baby brain.”
An Australian National University team is in the middle of conducting a 20-year study over population on health and aging which analyzed the mental function of women before pregnancy, during pregnancy and in the early stages of motherhood.
“We didn’t find any difference between the women before and after pregnancy, or before and after motherhood, and there were no differences between the non-mothers and the mothers, and the pregnant women,” lead researcher Helen Christensen told AFP. Christensen said the findings were unique because the women had no idea they were being tested for a pregnancy study.
According to Discovery.Com, during the study, which was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, pregnant women were frequently warned about the possibility of short-term memory problems, a condition guidebooks described as “baby brain” or “placenta brain”. The study, however, did find a limited impact on cognitive speed in late pregnancy. But the results were said to show that carrying a baby had no permanent effects on a woman’s mental function.
Need an OB/GYN? Find one near your home. Make sure you are in excellent health if you’re planning for a baby.
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