IT SEEMS pregnancy brain really does exist - as scans shed light on exactly how much having a baby can change the brain. Changes can linger for years after birth and only a few regions of the brain remain untouched, the first "map" of the process suggests. Scientists took 26 MRI scans of a 38-year-old woman's brain before conception, throughout her pregnancy and until two years after childbirth.
The findings show that some parts of the human brain may shrink in size during pregnancy, but become better connected. A few regions of the brain remain untouched by the transition to motherhood, the study published in Nature Neuroscience suggests. Some of the changes may be permanent, as the brain essentially reorganises itself during pregnancy, experts suggested.
Researchers said the findings, based on brain scans from one mum, may represent one of the first comprehensive maps of changes in the organ before, during and after pregnancy. "It's the first detailed map of the human brain across gestation," Emily Jacobs, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, told the BBC . "We've never witnessed the brain in a process of metamorphosis like this.
"We are finally able to observe changes to the brain in real time." Laura Pritschet, from the University of California, and colleagues analysed the brain of scientist Elizabeth Chrastil who was planning an IVF pregnancy when the research was being discussed. She now has a four-year-old son.
Researches conducted 26 MRI scans and blood tes.