Thursday, March 6, 2008

News Alert: New Moms Forget Stuff and Feel Like Idiots When They Do

Postpartum changes may bring on 'momnesia'

I love the subtitle: "Coping usually takes a few adjustments — plus, a sense of humor helps!"

Ok, Mickey. Whatever you say.

4 comments:

Robyn said...

Well, after reading the article I can’t believe a woman – and a mother—wrote it. How offensive! Why can’t we just acknowledge that mothers are required to remember extraordinary amounts of information – anyone trying to do all that is bound to forget a few things (which is why most CEOs, for example, have multiple human and technological assistants!)! And, that research about the female brain has been rejected by many scientists. Hormones don’t “cloud” one’s brain. Hormones help make the brain function, for both men and women! Gesh… perhaps we should stop trying to put mothers down or “explain” their momentary lapses from perfection and applaud them for all they accomplish in usually less than perfect circumstances!

Judit said...

Hi guys -- Robyn, I agree that mothers of babies and toddlers juggle an incredible number of tasks simultaneously; AND we rarely get credit for it! That is insulting. I also agree that hormones help our brains function optimally. But female and male hormones are obviously different, and female hormones differ over our life cycles, so I disagree that oxytocin and prolactin, whose levels are at a lifetime high for postpartum women, do not alter (and I mean alter, not diminish) brain functions. They do exactly that: they change mothers' brains so that they are in fact different than those male CEO brains (or non-lactating female CEO's brains if you prefer!) They are different in that they are better attuned to meeting their babies' needs. Moms are highly empathetic; their emotional (and thus to an extent, physical) well being is tied to that of their infants'; their sleep cycles --also brain chemistry-- becomes unlike typical adult sleep cycles... it's natural that all of this changes how mothers perceive time and process cognitive tasks like goal setting, recall, and logic. I have personally experienced, and many many mothers report, a feeling of timelessness, a general sense of tenderness, warmth, affection, and a (temporarily!!!) diminished interest in prior intellectual pursuits. Oh, and forgetfulness. Yup, it feels fuzzy and silly at times but it's for a very very good reason. "Mommy brain" or "momnesia" I agree sound so cutesy as to border on insulting, but the physiology is sound. Our brains, with the help of our hormones, are function superbly for a crucial task of caring for the young of our species. No shame in that whatsoever.

Rebekah said...

But female and male hormones are obviously different, and female hormones differ over our life cycles, so I disagree that oxytocin and prolactin, whose levels are at a lifetime high for postpartum women, do not alter (and I mean alter, not diminish) brain functions.

The funny thing about that is all the women quoted in the story have children that two and older and I'd bet good money those mom's aren't nursing anymore. The article didn't give too many details on the study but I find it odd the the forgetfulness, etc. seems to last after the hormonal changes should have rebalanced themselves. I'd tend to think forgetfulness among mothers has more to do with sleep deprivation and stress than hormonal shifts. But it's hard to argue about it specifically without the details of the study.

The thing that really gets to me about this is, rather than giving me a convenient explanation of my own memory issues, it underscores the notion that I am broken in some way and simply can't perform as well as before. Certainly not an opinion I'd want any of my future employers to think about me. And I really don't want to think of myself like that either.

Judit said...

Oh yeah, the article... the actual article (not the book The Female Brain rather extraneously mentioned therein) would make a good example of a college assignment that a journalism major shouldn't get a passing grade on. Evidently too many of them do... Did you notice how it reads as if you were watching a silly daytime TV show?
You're right on all counts. I've weaned and I get 7 hrs of sleep and I'm functioning as well as I can realistically expect myself LOL.
Embrace your forgetful days with your sweet boys. My (last) baby is starting to walk and --hormones or not, employment be damned-- I'm turning into a sentimental weepy mush over it!