ACCORDING TO NEW STUDY, THERE’S MORE TO “PREGNANCY BRAIN” THOUGHT

Pregnancy brings a whirlwind of physical and emotional changes, and one phenomenon that many expectant mothers report is the notorious “pregnancy brain.” Often described as forgetfulness or a mental fog, this condition has sparked curiosity and concern alike. Just when we thought that we understood the realities of “pregnancy brain,” a new research study shows us that there is much more to the phenomenon than we thought. Brain scans. PIXABAY.COM In a new study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers have created a comprehensive map of how the brain changes during pregnancy, showing just how little we knew about the vast affects that pregnancy has on a expectant mother’s brain. Per their research, study authors found that during pregnancy, while certain areas of the brain may shrink in size, they become more interconnected, “with only a few regions of the brain remaining untouched by the transition to motherhood.” Pregnant mother. ADOBE STOCK IMAGES Study author Dr. Emily Jacobs, associate professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara said, in a news briefing that there has been “so much about the neurobiology of pregnancy that we don’t understand yet.” She continued, “And...