What is it that causes baby brain?
I’m currently pregnant and definitely feel it happening. But why? And can it be prevented?
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Human brains need a lot to run. A lot of energy, a lot of blood, and a bunch of hormones.
Creating a whole extra person needs even more.
In pregnancy a lot of resources get diverted to feeding the baby and everything that’s required for it, this continues after birth with breastfeeding as well, and add in all the hormonal changes.
The human body will divert resources from where it needs it least to where it’s needed most – in this case, the brain isn’t as necessary for survival; certainly not the higher cognitive functions, so without enough energy in the body (blood, protein, hormones, nutrients) to run both the brain and the uterus at the same time, the body prioritises the uterus & foetus.
The inverse of this is especially noticeable during active labour – if you distract a person in labour with a bunch of questions that will stimulate the frontal cortex (questions like “what’s your insurance number and when was your last period and how far apart are the contractions and what’s your emergency contact phone number”) labour actually slows down.
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