Did you know that pregnancy can change your brain?
Pregnancy comes with a number of physical changes in the body. But new research shows that the brain goes through significant changes as well.
During pregnancy, your brain shrinks in size. In particular, pregnancy affects your gray matter.
Your gray matter is responsible for your decision-making process. Hence, changes in size will have some effects on the way new mothers interact with the world. So why does this happen?
A Preparation for Parenting
Pregnancy shrinks the area of the brain that is responsible for social interactions. Interacting with infants is considerably different than interacting with children or adults. After all, newborns aren’t capable of deliberate communication.
So when parents have to discover what the infant needs, they cannot use their usual social skills. When your grey matter shrinks, the brain becomes more effective. Hence, new mothers become experts at understanding the newborn’s needs.
It is like they develop a new social skill. This also leads to a higher IQ.
But there is another way that pregnancy can change your brain.
Different Emotional Responses
Additionally, being around a newborn requires a great deal of patience. Women whose gray matter shrunk will experience infant-related negative emotions less intensely.
Studies have also found that new mothers react differently to strangers. They are more alert because their brain processes new faces differently. Thus, mothers become very protective.
Hormone changes are significant as well. These can alter your emotions. Women experience these changes both during and after pregnancy.
Conclusion
Pregnancy can change your brain. This makes parenting easier for new mothers. It can also make them more efficient in all walks of life.
