Trending Now - Research Shows Pregnancy Alters Brain Structure for Motherhood
WHO:
Prof. Susana Carmona, co-leader of the study, from the Gregorio Marañón Health Research Institute in Madrid.
Elseline Hoekzema, neuroscientist from the Amsterdam University Medical Center.
Milou Straathof, neuroscientist and first author from the Amsterdam University Medical Center.
127 pregnant women from Madrid and Barcelona.
32 women who were not expecting.
30 women analyzed before and after their second pregnancy.
40 women analyzed before and after their first pregnancy.
40 women who have never given birth.
WHAT:
A study found that grey matter volume in the brain decreases by an average of nearly 5% during pregnancy.
The reduction in grey matter affects 94% of the brain, particularly regions linked to social cognition.
The grey matter partially returns six months after giving birth, but not fully.
The study linked the percentage of grey matter volume recovery to a “higher absence of hostility” towards the baby at six months postpartum.
A second pregnancy leads to distinctive changes in brain structure, particularly in regions responding to visual and auditory stimuli and directing attention.
The research indicates that brain changes during pregnancy are due to increased neuroplasticity rather than neurodegeneration.
WHERE:
The study was conducted in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain.
The research on second pregnancies was conducted at the Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
WHEN:
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
The research on second pregnancies builds on earlier findings from 2024.
WHY:
The reduction in grey matter is suggested to help mothers care for their newborns better.
The study aims to understand how pregnancy affects the female brain and improve maternal mental health.
HOW:
Brain scans were conducted before conception, during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, one month after birth, and six months after birth.
Urine and saliva samples were collected from the women on five occasions.
The study compared brain scans of pregnant women to those of women who were not expecting and to women who had previously given birth.
A recent study published in Nature Communications reveals that grey matter volume in the brain decreases by nearly 5% during pregnancy, affecting 94% of the brain, especially areas linked to social cognition. Conducted by researchers from the Gregorio Marañón Health Research Institute in Madrid and the Amsterdam University Medical Center, the study involved 127 pregnant women and found that while some grey matter partially returns six months postpartum, a second pregnancy leads to unique changes in brain structure. The research suggests these brain changes are due to increased neuroplasticity, which may help mothers better care for their newborns and improve maternal mental health.