{"id":5378,"date":"2026-07-06T22:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T20:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/?p=5378"},"modified":"2026-07-06T22:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T20:26:18","slug":"kismama-elbutulas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/kismama-elbutulas\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Mum-brain\u2019 is a real thing, but it\u2019s by no means only a negative influence on us"},"content":{"rendered":"

We can\u2019t think of the right words; we can\u2019t remember what we wanted to buy in the shop, or how we wanted to finish the sentence we\u2019d started. It\u2019s embarrassing. The most obvious sign of maternal senility is memory loss, but let\u2019s not be misled by this! Research shows that whilst our memory may temporarily falter, our other skills are actually beginning to flourish.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During pregnancy, but perhaps even more so during the first few years after giving birth, many mothers experience memory problems. We head into the kitchen, then look around in confusion, wondering why we came here in the first place. In the middle of a conversation, it\u2019s as if the words slip out of our heads; we can\u2019t finish our sentences, and often we can\u2019t even explain our sudden confusion clearly. Our memories are hazy, our comprehension is slower, we\u2019re exhausted and perhaps even a little ridiculous. But why is all this happening?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This phenomenon is most often explained by the social isolation that follows childbirth \u2013 that is, mothers have no contact with other adults and, amidst their child\u2019s babbling, simply (though only temporarily) lose their wits. Undoubtedly, this sort of environmental factor can also have a significant influence, however research<\/a> It has been shown that there is much more to it than that. Hormonal changes also have a significant impact on mothers\u2019 brain function, leading, for example, to various memory problems. However, these changes are by no means solely negative, as the reorganisation of neural connections in the brain is specifically geared towards the benefit of the new arrival \u2013 to ensure its survival and development into an independent, viable individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes the memory problems typical of expectant and new mothers unique is that, unlike other memory problems, during \u2018pregnancy brain\u2019 (that really is what the phenomenon is called), only certain types of memorisation are impaired. This includes, for example, when we deliberately try to remember something: a shopping list, a sentence spoken by an acquaintance, what we had planned for dinner, or what we wanted to say to our partner before we heard the refuse lorry passing by on the street. Exactly what triggers all this remains a matter of debate to this day, but it is clear that it is closely linked to the dramatic reorganisation of brain processes during pregnancy, which ensures that the body is prepared to care for the baby. Pregnancy results in the greatest changes in women\u2019s grey matter, where neurons connect and communicate with one another. A 2016 research<\/a> It has been shown that pregnant women experience a reduction in the volume of certain parts of their grey matter, and this may be linked to the development of memory impairment. However, the researchers also revealed that whilst neural connections decrease in certain areas of the grey matter, they begin to expand in other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poorer memory, greater social sensitivity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/span> A newborn baby is entirely dependent on the adults around it, and particularly on its mother. Its survival, its healthy physical and mental development, and the unfolding of its personality depend on the extent to which it is able to attract its mother\u2019s attention, and on how well she is able to attune herself to it, bond with it, and understand all its little troubles and worries even without words. The reorganisation of the mother\u2019s brain function facilitates this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whilst certain key areas lose some of their sensitivity as the pregnancy progresses, other skill centres \u2013 those that are most essential for caring for a child \u2013 are just beginning to become more acute. Social sensitivity increases: empathy, intuition, the ability to form bonds, and attention to and perception of the child. Whilst our attention towards the outside world generally wanes and our memory deteriorates, our focus on our baby generally strengthens. However, these skills are less noticeable to us, mainly because they were not previously of such great importance, and with the birth of a child we take them for granted. In contrast, the feeling of \u2018brain fog\u2019 is new, worrying, and \u2013 in the presence of others who do not understand the reasons behind it \u2013 embarrassing too. However, \u2018pregnancy brain\u2019 does have one significant positive benefit: it reduces the stress response. This essentially means that we worry less about things and feel less stressed; as a result, on the one hand, we can provide our baby with a sense of security with greater peace of mind, and on the other, we can respond more effectively to genuine sources of danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s not be misled by the pejorative name given to this phenomenon; it also brings us wonderful benefits, even if our forgetfulness proves to be the most obvious and most irritating aspect. \u2018Pregnancy brain\u2019, or as it is also known, momnesia<\/i> (mother + amnesia) is a real phenomenon; it is simply the way it manifests, its severity and the timing that vary from person to person. Some people do not even notice it, whilst others only pregnancy<\/a> For some, this begins during pregnancy, whilst for others it starts in the third trimester and continues throughout the two years following the birth. Alongside the unpleasant symptoms, however, there are also the pleasant ones \u2013 those that are worthy of recognition and bring joy: that we become the sort of mums who understand even unspoken words, who have \u201eeyes in the back of their heads\u201d, who can trust her instincts, and, last but not least, who is able to create a sense of security simply with her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally published on: divany.hu, 27 January 2021.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nem jutnak esz\u00fcnkbe szavak, nem eml\u00e9ksz\u00fcnk, mit akartunk venni a boltban, vagy hogy mik\u00e9nt akartuk folytatni az elkezdett mondatunkat. K\u00ednos. Az anyai elbutul\u00e1s legl\u00e1tv\u00e1nyosabb jele a mem\u00f3riazavar, de ez ne t\u00e9vesszen meg minket! Kutat\u00e1sok bizony\u00edtj\u00e1k ugyanis, hogy m\u00edg az eml\u00e9kezet\u00fcnk ideiglenesen meghanyatlik, m\u00e1s k\u00e9szs\u00e9geink \u00e9ppen hogy sz\u00e1rnyalni kezdenek. A v\u00e1rand\u00f3ss\u00e1g, de tal\u00e1n m\u00e9g ink\u00e1bb a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[209],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-divany"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5378"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5381,"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5378\/revisions\/5381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.gyerekrehangolva.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}