Does pregnancy lead to a long-term reduction in the brain’s cerebral gray matter volume? Are you wondering?
Do your clients say they feel like they can’t trust their brain during pregnancy and early parenthood? Do they report forgetfulness, brain fog, or loss of their memory? Or do they just leave their keys in the fridge or joke about having to find their phone when they have it in their hand?
Matrescence
As doulas and educators, we know that matrescence (the process of becoming a mother) is the physical, psychological and emotional changes experienced in transition after the birth or reception of a baby. This phrase was coined in 1973, the same year the word “doula” was published to describe someone who supports birth and postpartum–and both by anthropologist Dana Raphael. Dana didn’t know that one day we would be able to identify pregnant women just by scanning their brains compared to the brains of the non-pregnant, giving more credence to both the experience and effect of matrescence. While “baby brain” is described by more than 80% of women during pregnancy or early parenthood, new research suggests that in fact the brain seems to be both cutting itself off, as new findings show that it also grows in plasticity.
Synaptic Pruning at work!
In 2016, a study was published that showed that pregnancy involves long-term changes (within 2 years or more postpartum) in the analysis of a mother’s brain. The study used MRI to show the brains of those in their first pregnancy show significant reductions in gray matter in areas that control social cognition. Like puberty, matrescence appears to employ synaptic pruning, where weak synapses are removed allowing more efficient and specialized neural networks to grow. It is believed that these changes are related to the processes necessary to manage the challenges of new parenthood. The researchers also found that reductions in maternal brain volume were associated with a higher responsiveness, especially for their own babies.
Leads to improved skills!
New studies from 2020 show brain changes that occur during pregnancy support the emergence of new maternal behaviors. These researchers showed that in relation to those who were not yet pregnant, improved retention in spatial memory was shown as well as an increase in prior learning about parenting-related activity. Thus cognitive improvements are seen during pregnancy that improve the skills of parents. This both contradicts and explains the “mommy brain” experience that many of our clients describe, as certain areas of the brain shrink to make room for the connections that align the parent with their baby.
This study also noted that infant cues are associated with strong reinforcement that motivates maternal care. This is believed to be mediated by the release of dopamine in the brain’s reward system. Any parent can tell you the thrill they feel when they connect with their baby, read a cue correctly, get their need met, and especially when they are able to soothe and comfort their new baby! These findings provide the first indications that the transition to motherhood provides anatomical adaptations that promote strong responsiveness of mothers’ reward circuits to their infant’s cues.
Puberty and matrescence are more closely related
Just as puberty changes a girl’s brain, matrescence seems to reduce the brain volume of first-time mothers, especially with regard to preparing for future environmental demands. Finding little difference between brain scans of girls going through puberty and adult women going through matrescence, this suggests that hormonal priming activates a new state of neuroplasticity. New parents learn quickly (as do their babies!) and the pregnancy brain seems to make these preparations for the space needed to care for and nurture the future little people they are creating.
Being aware of these changes can help plan for mental health support, as both adolescence and young adulthood are sensitive periods of increased mental health risk due to the tremendous changes experienced at each stage. While we’ve known this about puberty for years, we’re only now beginning to learn that the transition to motherhood has similar effects on brain function, and we can begin to put new it was discovered to protect and support new parents!
How can we use it as doulas and educators?
Parents will welcome information about the upcoming changes, they may lose things, but this adjustment will allow their brains to connect and care for their children in a more sensitive and responsive way. that way! That their brain is creating new pathways to become an expert on their baby! We can also support new parents and remind them that their brains are doing important work that will set them up for years of successful parenting—and that this is a good time for extra care and support!
As a post-pandemic doula and educator, the research emerging is helping to make the future so bright. Learning about the brain will hopefully stimulate changes in care for pregnant and postpartum people, especially in the areas of mental health and social support. It’s a great time to be in the field of perinatal health and I hope insurance companies are listening so they can start covering the important support postpartum parents need.
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About the Author
Passionate about new families, Kimberly has been serving pregnant and postpartum families since 2001, first as a postpartum doula, then supplementing classes at a local hospital, then becoming a Lactation Consultant. She founded ABC Doula & Newborn Care in Portland, OR and has seen it grow to serve over 2500 families, including 700 families with twins or triplets. She has a passion for newborns and their families, as well as new doulas and educators launching their own businesses. She has been Faculty for CAPPA since 2005 and now trains Postpartum Doulas, Lactation Educators, New Parent Educators and her own advanced program for doulas, NCS and nannies called Working with Multiples, which provides caregivers to work with beloved twins and triplets.
With 2 decades in the industry, she continues to evolve as an educator, incorporating online classes and virtual training, and innovating new learning activities and techniques to continually engage her students to become their learning time is fun and dynamic. Kimberly is the mother of two grown children, and enjoys working together at home and work with her husband of over 25 years. She also teaches Breastfeeding, Newborn Care, and Twins and More classes within the Providence Health System, teaches both virtually and in person, and facilitates two mom groups for parents that create community around the early journey. in parenthood. Kimberly also created 2 instructional videos for educators and new parents covering swaddling techniques and connected baby bathing. She has seen the world change since the pandemic, raising awareness of mental health and social justice, and seeing the doula world explode…something she has been working towards for 20+ years! Her joy centers on making a difference for new parents, new doulas, and her community and changing the world one family at a time.
