It’s been about a week since I read about the Maternal Brain Project's study on the neural impact of pregnancy, and the findings have been spinning around in my mind ever since. I’ve delved into every article, podcast, and interview I could find, my thoughts swirling with questions and curiosities sparked by this research.
The recent study revealed that “MRI scans taken every few weeks from before conception until two years after childbirth showed widespread reorganization in the mother’s brain, with some changes being short-lived and others lasting for years.”
Remarkably, the findings suggest that the brain undergoes changes as significant as those experienced during puberty. I can’t help but reflect on my own journey through puberty—the vast differences in identity I felt before and after. Pre-puberty, I was eager, naïve, and awestruck by the world around me. Post-puberty, I became curious and hyper-aware of others, drawn to interests I felt were previously out of reach.
Both versions of me were valid, yet they represented very different expressions of self.
In an article in the New York Time, Anna Russel interviews Lucy Jones, the scientist and author of Matrescence, who argues that ““outside of adolescence, there is no transformation as dramatic in a human’s life.” Yet, modern Western society lacks rituals to celebrate becoming a mother—the baby shower is mostly for the baby—and offers little practical support.”
Before reading this study, I often thought of myself in pre-baby and post-baby terms, but now it feels like there’s a deeper understanding backing that up.
In Russels interview she writes “Jones shares her own experience of transforming into a hypervigilant state after childbirth. She describes constantly scanning her environment for threats to her baby: “The road seemed louder and busier than it did before she was born,” she writes. “My arms were taut around her, my claws ready to gouge an eye.” In public, she struggled to follow conversations when her baby was around, her attention diverted. These changes made sense to her when she realized, “my brain had changed beyond recognition.””
Many mothers can relate to this. After my first child, I felt perpetually on alert, hyper-aware of my surroundings and ready to protect my baby at a moment’s notice. Even now, with a solid support system in place, I worry when I’m away from them for too long. Recognizing this as part of how our brains adapt for caregiving can help us navigate these feelings without judgment or despair.
What’s truly appalling is that this is the FIRST study of its kind investigating how pregnancy affects women. “There is so much about the neurobiology of pregnancy that we don’t understand yet, and it’s not because women are too complicated or because pregnancy is some Gordian knot,” said Jacobs. “It’s a byproduct of the fact that the biomedical sciences have historically ignored women’s health.”
In 2024, women’s health and rights over their own healthcare seem to be constantly up for debate, yet there’s a shocking lack of scientific research on how pregnancy impacts women during this monumental life change.
This gap in knowledge significantly affects how mothers are perceived in society. For instance, pregnant women are often expected to maintain the same work hours as they did pre-pregnancy with no flexibility until they go into labor.
Imagine if we could use science to better understand the actual impact of the stages of pregnancy on women. What if we could identify which aspects of pregnancy require more flexibility to support both maternal and child development? We could create a society where pregnant women feel empowered to request flexibility in their schedules, rather than feeling pressured to conceal their pregnancies during such a transformative time.
The scientist leading this study, who deserves a standing ovation, mentioned that “further scans are being gathered from other pregnant women to learn about the risks of postnatal depression, the link between pre-eclampsia and dementia, and why pregnancy can reduce migraines and symptoms of multiple sclerosis.” There is still so much we don’t know about how pregnancy and birth change us. Knowledge is power, and it can equip us to navigate these experiences with greater understanding and ability to support one another.
Lucy Jones writes, “In order to succeed in a workplace dominated by men, women have had to downplay the radical changes that come with motherhood.” What if this could be a moment to pull back the curtain and have honest conversations about how this transformative experience affects women? Together, we can build systems that support mothers just as much as they support their children.
I feel compelled to shout from the rooftops about this study because pregnancy is incredibly fascinating, and the way it shapes who we become on the other side deserves exploration—both individually and collectively. I hope this serves as a call to action to reflect on your own transformation, to dive into examining your new self, and to find ways to celebrate the emergence of this new version of you.
Till next time, You got this Mama :)