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'Pregnancy Brain' Myth Busted by New Study
Filed under: In The News, Research Reveals
Pregnant women can no longer blame forgetfulness on "Momnesia." Credit: Getty Images
So what if you tried to brush your teeth with shampoo, can't ever seem to find your keys and haven't managed to match your socks for a week? You're eight months pregnant, and "Momnesia" is certainly to blame. Right?
Well, maybe not. Turns out that a new study from Australia denies the existence of the conditions "pregnancy brain" and "Momnesia," the mental confusion and forgetfulness that are widely believed to afflict pregnant women and new mothers.
For years, pregnancy experts such as Heidi Murkoff, author of the bestselling "What to Expect When You're Expecting," have characterized forgetfulness as a true symptom of pregnancy, alongside backaches, bloating and stretch marks.
On Murkoff's Web site, she coaches: "As usual in pregnancy, it's just your hormones having some fun, this time at the expense of your memory," and goes on to explain that brain cell volume actually decreases during the third trimester of pregnancy.
These claims are backed up by studies and reports by medical experts including Dr. Shoshanna Bennett, clinical psychologist and author of "Pregnant on Prozac," who tells PregnancyToday that "many of the mental symptoms in pregnancy come from biochemical changes in the woman's brain chemistry and endocrine system."
In an interview with WebMD, Dr. Louann Brizendine, author of "The Female Brain," explains that sleep deprivation is a contributing factor, since "women accumulate up to 700 hours of sleep debt in the first year after having a baby."
In fact, the concept of "Momnesia" -- also referred to as mommy brain, placenta brain or pregnancy amnesia -- is so widely recognized, it's referenced in a wide range of books and articles on topics such as postpartum depression and surviving your baby's first years, and was even selected as one of the 2008 "Words of the Year" by English lexicographer Susie Dent.
So how could a concept that's so commonly accepted not be true?
Published in the February issue of The British Journal of Psychiatry, the Australian study finds fault with previous studies that support the idea of "pregnancy brain," suggesting they may be flawed because they did not test subjects before they were pregnant, so they do not have a true baseline or starting point. Other studies were found to have sample sizes that were too small to be significant, or the lack of a follow-up period.
The Australian study followed 1,241 women between 1999 and 2007, and concluded there were no substantial differences in cognitive test results between women who were pregnant or were new moms, and those who were not.
"Women may have memory lapses, and change their focus to children and upcoming birth. This does not mean they have lost their capacities," Helen Christensen, Ph.D, the study's lead author and a researcher at the Australian National University of Canberra, tells WebMD.
The Australian findings echo those of a 2008 study done at the University of Sunderland in the U.K. Researcher Ros Crawley, Ph.D, tells WebMD that very little difference was found between the performance of pregnant and nonpregnant women on tests of memory and attention, and on tasks that more closely mimicked real-world situations.
Crawley clarifies that she was not saying differences are never found between the cognitive skills of pregnant and nonpregnant women, but suggests it may be that pregnant women have adopted a social stereotype that suggests they will become more forgetful and absentminded. Crawley concludes that it may be time for society to question the stereotype of "pregnancy brain."
Do you think you've suffered from episodes of Momnesia during pregnancy or early parenthood?
Related: Pregnancy: Common Concerns
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 3)
2-12-2010 @ 9:40PM
Holly said...ONE study does not mean it's NOT true..what about all the studies that say it IS true? I'm a mom of 3 kids and had "pregnancy brain" with all three of them..good luck convincing me otherwise ;)
Reply
2-20-2010 @ 2:36PM
emily29388 said...Well I'm sure it can't be true because I never heard of it before.
2-20-2010 @ 2:56PM
Simzee said...Momnesia? That's funny.......Since when do people forget things while pregnant? Yes, I've two kids & never forgot any more or less while pregnant.
2-20-2010 @ 5:01PM
Vivian said...Every situation is different - even with the same mom & different babies. Some babies are very needy and some adjust to the family's schedule. Extreme exhaustion complete with jibberish thinking is indeed possible (along with dealing with many new responsibilities). Call it mommy brain or "needs a break", everyone is different.
I'm glad to those of you who had no issues, to those of you who have experienced mommy brain - hang in there, it only lasts a while (don't drown the baby.) Oh, Come on, you must know it is where the old saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water," came from. Since the beginning of time, women may have called it different things, but I believe it happens (had my 1st baby 1968 - my grandmother explained it to me. She called it being a new momma.
2-20-2010 @ 5:34PM
Jill said...Shouldn't this be treated as a condition that could happen, and is attributable to pregnancy, but is not necessarily experienced by everyone? I definitely felt like I lost some of my cognitive abilities during and following my three pregnancies, probably due to exhaustion. Not every pregnant woman experiences every pregnancy symptom, but it doesn't mean it doesn't exist for someone else. I never had nausea but have seen other women almost incapacitated by it during pregnancy.
2-20-2010 @ 7:45PM
Cherish said...well, I'm pregnant and love to blame my forgetfullness on the baby and plan on continuing to do so. Isn't that one of the perks?
2-13-2010 @ 2:17PM
Caryn said...Just because they didn't test women before doesn't mean women don't know what we're talking about. It's accepted in books because pregnant women know it IS true. I was highly organized and able to multitask before my pregnancy. During, I dropped things, forgot words, etc. Once my child was sleeping at night and I resumed my new "normalcy"...ta da...my brain came back. And, oh look, I lost it again and I learned I was pregnant again!
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2-14-2010 @ 1:18PM
Jody said...I have not been able to get pregnant and at 40, I have pregnancy brain just like my friends with children. I have been telling them: I have forgetfulness too, I do the same things as you...it's not a pregnancy thing, at least not absolutely! It's an age/sleep deprivation thing going on. :) I am proof of this. :)
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2-15-2010 @ 9:09AM
CaemlynsMom said...Isn't that along the same lines as saying that you know my achy back is not due to my pregnancy because your back hurts, too? I'm not denying other factors can be involved, but I don't think it's fair for a person to rule out pregnancy as a factor if she hasn't been pregnant (especially if she has not done her own scientific studies on the subject).
I am 33 weeks pregnant now, and I know that my memory and thought process have been affected (for me it was much worse during the second trimester and has seemed to improved, at least for now). I don't know if these changes are due to hormones, sleep changes, or if I should "invent" an old wives' tale saying the baby is stealing my memories, but I do know there have been changes.
2-20-2010 @ 4:25PM
Jan said...I agree, Jody! I think it may be a hormonal change or something, because I'm 38, I have fibromyalgia and have forgetfulness because of that. I have never been pregnant. But, I do know some pregnant women who use 'momnesia" as an excuse at every chance. I think it's just has to do with any change in hormones.
2-20-2010 @ 2:40PM
Julia said...I am the mother of five and never had Pregnancy Brain even though with one of the babies, I got little sleep for months. Perhaps if you are expecting to have it, you notice little incidences when you can't find your keys, drop somthing because you are rushing, etc., whereas you never noticed it before.
As for backaches, of course, pregnancy can cause it, but worse backache times for me was when carry the baby around while trying to do chores, carry laundry, groceries, etc.
Reply
2-20-2010 @ 2:41PM
shauneblu said...That is why the study must be repeated to show if their results are true or not.
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2-20-2010 @ 2:28PM
autumn said...I have actually forgoten where I lived one time when I was pregnant. I think that part of this memory loss problem is due to lack of nutrients. After having kids, our bodies take in everything differently.
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2-20-2010 @ 2:38PM
snoel said...Had 4 children and no problems about forgetting things. Emotional, yes. Forgetful, no. Guess its because no one told me I was supposed to be or maybe had the kids before they did studies about it.
Reply
2-20-2010 @ 2:38PM
emily29388 said...If you're a clutz and a dumb a&& why blame it on being pregnant? Don't you have enough problems already?
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2-20-2010 @ 3:02PM
neenees5 said...Just because you havent heard of it doesn't make it true? and you're accusing people who have suffered "momnesia" to be a clutz and "a??". Sounds to me like you are the one who is uneducated and an "a??". My daughter who is pursueing her BA and maintains a 4.0 GPA had momnesia with both of her children. Maybe you shouldn't judge others and call them names.
2-20-2010 @ 4:58PM
ZoesMom said...you have serious anger issues girl
2-20-2010 @ 2:46PM
Jessica said...Unless this Australian study actually MEASURED the amount of estrogen, or other hormones in women's systems and bloodstreams when pregnant, and witnessed the neurological effects of any dopamine in their brains with an electroencephalograph (EEG)--testing their brain waves, as well as measured the difference post birth (& w/a control group) . . . this Australian study is seriously flawed in making any assumptions about any pregnant woman's condition! After four pregnancies . . . I know, from studying the effects with brain waves, blood chemistry, and neuro-chemistry there IS a difference in a woman's brain and hormonal levels coursing throughout her body when pregnant that would lend credence to forgetfulness, or absent-mindedness and occasional mental confusion! It normally rights itself, post birth, once all hormonal levels calm back to normal; but "Momnesia" DOES exist, and it is NOT due to social stereotyping! The Australian study is flawed and insulting to anyone with any kind of intelligence about endocrine systems and brain neurochemistry, as well as to pregnant women!!!
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2-20-2010 @ 3:07PM
Holly said...Thank you so much for pointing this out! People need to stop saying that it's not true just because it never happened to them. I've already posted on this board, but I'll post again. I'm a mom of 3 and had SEVERE pregnancy brain. I was forgetting things. I even forgot how old I was..I sat at the OB/GYN's office on my first visit and it took me a GOOD 10 minutes to remember how old I was. It freaked me out so when I was called back, The OB?GYN said that YES! you CAN and DO have pregnancy brain and it's due to the changes in brain chemistry and hormones..like you stated, unless they checked these hormone levels and watched brain wave cycles, this study is inconclusive...
2-20-2010 @ 2:49PM
Phil said...My wife it bad when she was pregnant and since it was our first time, we had no idea what was going on. I mentioned it to a co-worker who was pregnant with her 3rd and she just laughed and said my wife had "as boobs get bigger, brain gets smaller syndrome" and she had it with all of her pregnancies.
Since then just about every women we know has had it while pregnant.
I'm sure this new study will make them all feel soooo much better.
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