After experiencing pregnancy and the acute hardship that it came with, I realized it is more complex than what we are told. Yes, it brings forth life, and it is indeed the miracle it is said to be, but the difficulties that come with it are too intense not to be addressed. Hence, over the past few years, I have been obsessed with gaining more pregnancy information. One of the many symptoms that I always heard, and experienced during pregnancy is the “pregnancy brain.” This is what is used to describe the forgetfulness experienced by virtually every pregnant woman during pregnancy. What is not public knowledge is what causes this phenomenon. While the rest of the body undergoes physical adaptive changes to accommodate the growing baby, so does the brain. According to recent research, the brain does this by shrinking, literally, and it takes approximately six months after birth to regain its full size.
So, why does the brain shrink?
While the idea of the brain shrinking sounds dramatic and scary, scientists suggest that it is not harmful, but rather just an immaculate ability of the female body. Pregnancy causes the brain to undergo the process of neuroplasticity, where it technically restructures itself to prepare for motherhood. As such, shrinking doesn’t mean losing intelligence; instead, the brain becomes more specialized, fine-tuning areas linked to empathy, emotional regulation, and bonding.
This adaptation helps new mothers have a heightened ability to recognize their baby’s needs more quickly, respond sensitively to cries, and develop stronger attachment. However, due to this, the brain overlooks other aspects that it deems less important, which causes the adverse forgetfulness or the inability of pregnant women and new mothers to focus. A better way to look at it is less as “shrinking” and more as “streamlining” since it technically makes the mother more aligned with motherhood to be able to tackle the challenges that come with it and be able to keep their baby alive—fascinating!
When does the brain bounce back?
The female body really was perfectly designed to bring forth life because this change in the brain gradually retracts to pre-pregnancy size within the first six months of the baby’s life. I say that the female body was indeed designed to bring forth life because it is during this period that a baby is the most delicate, and the brain remains adaptive to keep it alive. An interesting fact to note to affirm the impeccable design of the female body to support life is that while a baby is born, it has enough iron from their mother to last it until they are six months old. Coincidence? I guess not—just a sign that a higher power exists, in my opinion. Another interesting aspect is that while the brain does regain its pre-pregnancy size within the said six months, some changes, particularly those related to maternal instincts and caregiving, remain long-term and permanent.
Knowing that these adaptive changes actually happen to the brain during pregnancy is crucial to mothers, their partners, and the entire society. Because with this information, we are all able to extend pregnant women some grace for being forgetful or clumsy during pregnancy, because really, it is out of their control. In fact, rather than considering it a weakness, we can all view it from a positive perspective, knowing it is the brain restructuring itself by focusing less on trivial details and more on survival, protection, and caregiving, to support life.
This is why we say that when a child is born, so is a mother.
