Pregnancy enhances women's intellect

London, February 10: Contrary to the usual belief, brainpower of a women improves during pregnancy and this change is there to stay for lifetime, found a recent study by Australian National University researchers.

The stages ranging from pregnancy to motherhood gives women an exceptional intellect, as suggested by the study. Many past studies have asserted that pregnancy leads to shrink women’s brains. These studies have also maintained that pregnant women always perform badly when tested for memory and verbal skills.

But researchers have challenged the concept of "baby brain" through this study. They believe child-bearing and motherhood brings along mental dexterity and this could well be a lifelong change.

Study lead, professor Helen Christensen, said: "Women often report problems with memory and reasoning after they become pregnant. But the latest finding has proven they do not. "Our research suggests that although women, and their partners, think there may be a link between brain capacity and pregnancy and motherhood, there're certainly no permanent ones that we can find."

The team's findings are supported by a ten-year long close follow-up of 2,500 women, where they maintain that no specific difference was found in their intellectual power before and during their pregnancies.

Christensen commented: "We found women who were pregnant during the second or third batch of interviews performed the same on tests of logic and memory as they did before, and there was no difference between the pregnant women and the controls. It really leaves the question open as to why women -- and often their partners -- think they've poor memories, when the best evidence we have is that they don't."

"Perhaps women notice minor lapses in mental ability and then attribute it to being pregnant because that is the most significant thing in their mind at the time. Or sleep deprivation could mask the positive cognitive effects," she added.

Researchers feel that improved brainpower is to prepare the mother for the further demanding life with a baby, contradicting previous findings that links child-bearing with hampered mental acuity.