Pregnancy changes a woman's brain

The radical hormone surges and physical changes of pregnancy lead to a change in the dynamics of the brain

PARIS: Pregnancy causes "long-lasting" physical changes to a woman's brain, with significant, but seemingly beneficial, grey matter loss in parts of the crucial organ, a study said Monday.

The radical hormone surges and physical changes of pregnancy have long been known and studied, but its effects on the brain have been little understood.

The new study, claims to provide the first evidence "that pregnancy confers long-lasting changes in a woman's brain."



It compared pre- and post-pregnancy brain scans of 25 first-time mothers. They researchers also looked at the brains of first-time fathers, as well as men and women with no children.

It found "pronounced and long-lasting GM (grey matter) volume reductions in a woman's brain" in pregnancy, in regions involved in social processes.

The brain changes were likely an adaptation for motherhood - boosting the ability to recognise the needs and emotional state of a baby and decode potential threats to its health and safety.