Becoming a mother might bring about extreme changes in the female brain. This can be numerous functional and structural adaptations in the female brain throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period, which is driven by an interplay between endocrine and environmental factors.
“Mom Brain” refers to the absent-mindedness that some mothers experience after the birth of their children. Research suggests that the mommy’s brain is a myth. It is also called as “Pregnancy Brain” and this usually happens during the last 2 months of the due date and post 6 months of the postpartum period.
What Is the Postpartum Period?
The postpartum period is often interpreted as the six weeks after childbirth. This is a very major time for both – mother and newborn infant to adjust to each other. In the initial few hours and days after childbirth, a mother experiences many changes, both physically and emotionally.
Symptoms of ‘Mommy Brains’
There are many symptoms of Mommy brains that women mostly neglect even though it’s really important during the postpartum period, some of them are as of below:
Forgetfulness: Researchers suspect that pregnant women’s forgetfulness stems from hormone shifts and lifestyle changes. Moreover, the postpartum period has been connected with an increase in cognitive impairment, which essentially presents as absentmindedness or recent memory loss, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, and distractibility.
Clumsiness: It’s due to awkwardness post-pregnancy. Usually, women have some sort of absentmindedness, but sometimes women should be very careful during this period. Post the delivery, they feel awkward while walking and sleeping. Might even have some mood swings.
Disorientation: Throughout the pregnancy, women might experience a disorienting feeling of unsteadiness, or vertigo, that can make one feel one is about to fall or faint. After the postpartum period, one also might feel the same.
Also, Read: Know How the Brain of Your Baby Develops
Causes Of Mommy Brains
While the causes of pregnancy brain are unclear, here are some usual causes:
Hormones: Pregnancy sends a flood of various hormones throughout the body. This brings out crucial physiological changes and may also affect the brain and memory. The hormone stays high while breastfeeding, but once the babies are introduced to solids and begin to wean, the hormonal changes in the mother slow down.
Trouble Sleeping: Difficulty falling asleep and excessive sleeping are two common symptoms of this condition. Most of the women report insomnia which will affect their cognitive functions and also affect their memory.
Stress and Anxiety: Stress and anxiety might increase during and after pregnancy. This can happen due to the worry or excitement about the new adventure and the major life changes that it might bring, which can interfere with the ability to concentrate and remember things.
How to Deal With Mommy Brain?
Here are some of the small changes in the routine that might help to manage forgetfulness during the postpartum period:
Try to Get Good Sleep: It is usually hard to get good sleep during the pregnancy and postpartum period, but getting enough sleep will help to refresh one’s self. Ask the partner, family, or friends to pitch in with chores, and childcare. A lightened load means less stress, which can affect the ability to remember things, and one can catch good sleep.
Exercise: Working every day not only helps to keep fit but also reduces mental stress. It will also sharpen memory. And will help sleep finer at night, increasing attentiveness during the day.
Simplify: Take a break from the daily chores at times and emphasize what’s necessary and what’s not. Save energy for the important things.
However, if having a lot of trouble thinking or concentrating, feeling sad every day for most of the day, or noticing a loss of interest or delight in things, could be suffering from postpartum depression. It is advisable to visit the doctor and take the help of family and friends to overcome this period of depression. One should never ignore such symptoms and should consider it as a priority and visit a doctor and get help from family or friends whenever needed to overcome any kind of physical or mental worries.
Also, Read: Breastfeeding Benefits for Mother and Newborn
