Is Baby Brain Really Real? Experts Say It Is!

A new study has found that the phenomenon called baby brain which was thought of as being a myth — is actually real.

For a long time, we’ve known about how a pregnant woman usually experience having a ‘baby brain’, forgetting things, having difficulty reading and focusing, and getting confused and disoriented.

While most of us thought it was just a myth, now, researchers at Victoria’s Deakin University found that having a ‘baby brain’ among pregnant women is actually genuine as it affects the functionality of four in five pregnant women in their study.

Deakin University associate professor Linda Byrne said that the phenomenon, which happens mostly during the third trimester of pregnancy, do exist.

“It was certainly thought of as being a myth, which diminishes a woman’s experience of what she’s going through, but it is a real thing and it is measurable,” Prof Byrne told the Daily Telegraph.

“Anecdotally, it is something that we have known for a long time … a large number of women talk about feeling a bit foggy and we are saying that it is real.”

The study, which was published in the Medical Journal of Australia, analysed 709 pregnant and 521 non-pregnant women in 20 separate studies.

It found that memory performance declined during the early stages of pregnancy. However, from mid-pregnancy, the decline either slowed or stopped. It also found that overall cognitive functioning was poorer in pregnant women than in non-pregnant women.

However, Dr Byrne said that more research should be done to identify the impact of ‘baby brain’ on the quality of life and everyday functioning of pregnant women.

“These findings need to be interpreted with caution, particularly as the declines were statistically significant, but performance remained within the normal ranges of general cognitive functioning and memory,” she said. “It’s not something that is at a level that we need to worry about, it is not going to affect how a woman does her job and day-to-day life.”

She also explained that the cognitive changes are believed to be related to the brain ‘reorganising itself’ and prioritising other tasks during pregnancy.

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk and 9news.com.au