“Mommy brain,” “baby brain” and “momnesia” are some of the terms used to describe the brain fog and forgetfulness many moms say they experience before and after having a baby. But in a newly published article, “It’s Time to Rebrand ‘Mommy Brain,’” a team of scientists say the idea that being a mom is associated with a decline in cognitive abilities may be both wrong and unfair to moms and their brains.
According to the scientists, the term has become a self-fulfilling prophecy that undermines the positive changes in women’s brains that happen after having kids. “It’s complicated because you internalize or potentially expect to experience something like ‘mommy brain’ in a negative way,” explains Dr. Clare McCormack, a research assistant professor at NYU Langone Medical Center. “You might expect to experience fogginess and forgetfulness, so when an everyday moment of forgetfulness happens, there’s a label for it, it’s confirming what you thought you would see, and it can really become ingrained.”
McCormack and her fellow female scientists behind the article write that the idea of motherhood leaves you with “a brain that no longer functions well is scientifically just not so.” They note that beyond current research not conclusively showing “mommy brain” is real, there hasn’t been enough research done on what actually happens to the brain in pregnancy and motherhood. McCormack, Dr. Bridget L. Callaghan and Dr. Jodi L. Pawluski led their own study looking at how pregnancy affects long-term memory and found pregnant women showed better cognitive performance than women who weren’t pregnant. So while more research needs to be done on the topic, they want to try to set the record straight and “change the narrative” from what is lost when you become a mom to what is gained.
Source: Good Morning America