For women, pregnancy is a journey of transformation that causes a series of physical changes. Hormonal and cardiovascular system changes are just two aspects of the process. However, many may be unaware of just how much the brain changes during pregnancy.
The results of a recent study provide a new look into how the brain changes before, during, and after pregnancy. The findings are both surprising and fascinating. Here are the changes that the study suggests occur in the brain.
Effects of pregnancy on the brain A recent study "Neuroanatomical changes observed over the course of a human pregnancy" that was led by neuroscientists at the University of California has mapped how a woman’s brain reorganises in response to pregnancy. The researchers used advanced brain scans to track these changes in a first-time mother over the course of three years—starting just before conception, through pregnancy, and two years postpartum. The study found a decrease in grey matter—the brain’s outermost layer that has the role of muscle control and sensory perception—and an increase in white matter integrity.
This means that while some regions of the brain shrank slightly, others strengthened their connections. These changes seem tied to rising levels of pregnancy hormones like estradiol and progesterone. In this photo provided by Liz Chrastil, a neuroscientist with the University of California, Irvine, she her holds her newborn son in May 2020.
(Courtesy Liz Chrastil via AP) How do th.