Prepare for a positive birth experience with our new book
The Two Week Wait
10 Questions To Ask Your Care Provider
Your Pregnancy Care Options
Common Symptoms in Early Pregnancy
How to Prepare for a Positive Induction (plus five positive induction stories)
Six things you may not know about the hours after a caesarean birth
A Guide to Packing Your Nappy Bag
Everything You Need to Know About “Baby Brain”
Brought to you by Boody
In 2017, the results from the first study on the brain in pregnancy were published. Three female researchers in Spain designed the study and recruited women who had never before been pregnant. They then took MRIs of the brain before birth and a few weeks afterward. They also scanned the fathers’ brains which helped them better understand if the changes were a result of pregnancy or parenthood. The results showed that the mother’s brain goes through the greatest structural change in response to any experience that any human goes through. The hormone oestrogen is involved in the structural changes in the third trimester which makes new mothers’ brains adaptable, flexible, primed to learn quickly and figure things out.
Here’s five things about the postpartum brain that you’ll find empowering (and definitely not embarrassing):
1. The hormone oestrogen is great for brain health. Oestrogen is a cognitive enhancer, it’s great for brain health and it builds neural resilience. You have sky high levels in pregnancy but you then experience a sudden, significant dip in the first few days after birth and that’s when you have vulnerability to baby blues. You can definitely expect the baby blues – sad, teary and anxious – but if these feelings persist for over four weeks, it’s best to chat to your GP.
2. You’re primed for learning after birth. You don’t automatically know how to mother your baby or understand their cries and cues. Your brain experiences structural changes in pregnancy so that when your baby is born, you are primed to learn. And you learn how to mother every day as you better understand what your baby wants and needs. These structural changes take place in parts of the brain with social cognition, reading social cues, empathy, theory of mind – thinking about what someone else is thinking and feeling. There’s also a correlation between the degree of structural change in pregnancy and the degree of attachment, awareness and engagement after birth.
3. The postpartum brain has a reduction in grey matter. That’s because your brain is rewiring to help you adapt to your role as a mother. The same thing happens in adolescence – a time of significant brain development and maturation. That’s why psychologist Alexandra Sacks uses the term matrescence to describe the developmental transition into motherhood.
Head to boody.com.au/australianbirthstories – you’ll find everything you need for this time in your life and beyond plus a code to enjoy 15% off everything in the edit.
4. Sleep should be prescribed in postpartum. Sleep is one of the greatest protectors we have against postnatal depression but of course, sleep deprivation is one of the most common experiences of postpartum. The hours before midnight are the best for settled sleep so we need to be having more conversations about how families can create opportunities for the mother’s sleep in the fourth trimester and beyond.
5. Non-birthing parents experience brain changes, too. This includes biological dads, foster and adoptive mothers, non-birthing mothers and gay fathers. The change is driven by interaction with the baby.
To hear more about baby brain and the almighty changes in pregnancy and postpartum, listen to episode 386 with neuroscientist, Dr Sarah McKay.
We think you might enjoy these articles
postpartum
If you’re currently pregnant and starting to gather essentials for your baby, chances are you’re thinking about the must-haves for your nappy bag.
The colloquial and derogatory term, baby brain, has been used for decades to explain the forgetfulness and brain fog of new motherhood. But research proves that the brain in new motherhood is primed for learning.
Comfortable basics are absolutely essential for early postpartum when your body is soft and sore. Your physical recovery will be very dependent on your birth experience but, that said, no-one is bouncing back from pregnancy and birth. The whole concept of returning to who you were before your pregnancy is unrealistic; your body has taken almost a year to conceive, grow and birth your baby, it will take you time to recover and heal.
The hierarchy of needs is a great tool to use in conversation with your partner so together you can work out how to facilitate your essential needs in postpartum.
You may not have thought much about your perineum or pelvic floor before you conceived but now that you’re pregnant (or in postpartum) it may be demanding your attention. Here’s five things you should know about your postpartum pelvic floor.
What is the Fourth Trimester?
The 12 weeks after birth is often referred to as the fourth trimester. It’s a term coined by US paediatrician Harvey Karp in 2002, that highlights the fact that even though your baby is outside your body, they’re still very much connected to you. Indeed, newborn babies are still growing and functioning as if they’re in utero; wholly dependent on you as they very slowly and tentatively adjust to life outside the womb.
The postpartum period is the weeks and months that follow birth. If you’re pregnant for the first time, you may not have heard about it and that’s understandable considering it’s not a hot topic of social conversation. Postpartum is often a private experience that occurs behind closed doors, hence many women only learn about it when they’re in the midst of it; cradling their newborn, leaking milk and tears, blindsided by the sheer intensity of this new season.
If you’re new to breastfeeding (or you’re currently pregnant and planning to breastfeed), you’ve come to the right place.
Get the Guide