During pregnancy, many women tend to have a decline in their cognitive abilities, with the term now being labelled as ‘baby brain’. Though, just how real is baby brain?
The experts at House Call Doctor tell you everything you need to know.
What does ‘baby brain’ affect?
Baby brain can impact many cognitive abilities, including trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, reading difficulties and confusion.
Not only this, many women have reported they also felt baby brain interfered with their everyday life. This included their professional and personal life, with some women saying they were less verbally fluent, less coherent at work, forgetful when it came to bookings and some even said they felt they were so hindered they could not return to work.
According to a study by the American Psychological Association, 50 to 80 per cent of women in the United States have said they experienced baby brain.
Is baby brain real?
There is no definite answer to whether or not baby brain is real. Some studies have argued it is simply a myth and that any problems a woman is facing simply occurs because of tiredness, not an actual change in the brain’s function.
Alternatively, some other studies have argued pregnancy can impact the brain for up to two years. While it is still undetermined whether baby brain is real, researchers at Deakin University conducted a study in early 2018 and discovered there is in fact a link between pregnancy and cognition.
The findings from this study have now raised the question again as to what impact pregnancy has on a woman’s cognitive abilities.
