Motherhood improves brain power, says study

Bristol Oct 13: Motherhood helps in improving brain power, says a new study. Although women may believe to the contrary, motherhood does equip them with better brain functions, and bolsters cognitive abilities. It supercharges brain power to take on the challenge of bringing up their child.

According to a recent research, it has been found that motherhood actually prepares women for multitasking involved in bringing up a child and helps her to take on increased responsibilities with ease. The study contradicts the notion that mothers suffer from anything like ‘baby brain’. Neither pregnancy nor motherhood has any permanent links with brain capacity, suggests the report.

In an earlier research, it was reported that pregnant women faired badly in the tests for memory and verbal skills. However, Dr. Kinsley perceives these temporary changes as part of a process of remodeling the brain, most of which is eventually beneficial.
‘Baby brain’ might be a temporary phase and that too, only during pregnancy. “Pregnant women do undergo a phase of so-called baby brain, when they experience an apparent loss of function,” says Craig Kinsley, professor of neuroscience at the University of Richmond, Virginia. “However, this is because their brains are being remodeled for motherhood to cope with the many new demands they will experience,” reiterates Craig.

“Many benefits seem to emerge from motherhood, as the maternal brain rises to the reproductive challenge,” reaffirms the findings. Having a baby makes mothers more alert and vigilant and further enhances their learning abilities.

Women gain long-lasting benefits from motherhood. “Although most studies have so far focused on animals, it is likely women also gain long-lasting benefits from motherhood. Most mammals share similar maternal behaviors controlled by the same brain regions,” suggest the researchers.

There is a significant increase in mental capacity as a result of the hormonal changes during child birth and breastfeeding. These hormonal fluctuations could be life-long, providing protection from degenerative diseases apart from the improved mental agility.

“Nerve cells in areas known to be linked to parenting also expand and develop more connections with neighboring cells during pregnancy to give mothers supercharged 'computing' power,” says Dr. Kinsley.