Mumsnet Talk

How did you find being pregnant? Was your work, studying, driving or general cognitive functioning impaired? I'm sure mine was as wondering whether it's a good idea to do a tough uni course with an exam while pregnant (heavily). Aibu?

I would say it does. For me anyway. I was doing a uni course whilst heavily pregnant with dc2 and, based on my experience, it is definitely not something I would recommend.
But in a sec there will be dozens of women writing that they did 2 phds simultaneously whilst pregnant with triplets or something. So it seems that it varies from person to person.

I passed my driving test whilst pg despite my instructor telling me that anyone whose hormones were in an uproar would lose all sense of direction or something

Yes. I lost my marbles. And before I was pregnant I used to heavily scorn women who claimed to have "baby brain" or such like.

I lost my brain and marbles. Dd now 8 weeks old and it shows no sign of returning. goes to get baby clothes out the bin and takes the nappy out the washer

Yes, baby brain is a real problem. I can barely remember the name of simple household objects.

I have definitely suffered from moments of insanity, that I'm quite sure I wouldn't have had I not been pregnant.

I'm usually not scatterbrained. Seems I am now

Is it not tiredness?

Only nine wks pregnant and so far have washed a disposable nappy in washing machine, burnt two saucepans and left keys in front door 3 times.
I also started a new highly responsible professional job 5 weeks ago!!

I forgot where i lived! It was very scary.

I couldn't even hold a simple converstion for a couple of months after ds was born... It must depend on the person but I think lack of sleep also has a role.

Yes, mine was terrible, like living in a fog. I remember driving along the road one day and it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going. I had to pull over and try to think purposefully about just what I was doing.

It doesn't go away once you've had the baby either. I still find myself getting a bit puddled and I still can't recall words sometimes.

It wasnt just tiredness for me. My driving went to pot while pregnant... Couldn't concentrate properly and I kept getting a bit too over emotional about trivial things...

Glad it's not only me... Don't want to put everything on hold for a year though!

I was 6 weeks pregnant when I had my first set of exams last year for my MSc. I passed 1 and failed 3. I retook them at 18 weeks pregnant and passed by the skin of my teeth. I was bloody lucky.

Now my DS is 10 months I can't even remember simple things and forget words all the time. I sometimes sit and think for ages what words to use in a sentence. It's really bad. I can actually feel my brain being all mushy.

I'm definitely not firing on all cylinders. I don't think it's anything magical about the pregnancy per se, just a combination of nausea, aches and tiredness.

But presumably you'll only get worse after the baby, so if you have to do the exam and it's a choice between pregnant or post-natal, I think I'd go with pregnant!

For me it was tiredness that affected me most (spent 12 hours a day out the house, with work and commuting and such), but my brain function was just the same. I was definitely not as focused though, just couldn't care like I used to. But I'm back to work soon and looking forward to being challenged again!

I found out I was pg two weeks before I started my two year MA is Social Work.

I am now 17 weeks pg and I am struggling.

It is a really intensive full time course (I'm in uni 9-4 every day and then have to do all my outside studying, exam prep, essay writing and group presentation work outside this time) and it is bloody hard.

This week especially I am having huge doubts over whether I should continue. However, I do have massive amounts going on outside of this as well as 3 other children at home so this probably adds to it all.

When pregnant I reversed my car off my driveway right into my neighbours car about 30 seconds after I'd commented about how it was odd she had parked her car there. I was actually shocked when I did it as if I'd never seen it there, I had a memory like a goldfish.

Exactly, pregnant or post natal...think I'll take pregnant... Although The back pain was a bitch. I wish dp could do the pregnancy and birth bit

Yep it's true. I crashed my DH's car not once but twice when my DD was tiny. I've been driving 15 years and never had any other accidents. I also left confidential documents on the train when pregnant with DS. Also very unlike me. Luckily they were in a locked case and I did get them back unopened. Generally my brain, usually like a steel trap, was rusted. My youngest is 2.6 now and it is much better, although still not I think as good as before pregnancy / motherhood.

YANBU! My brains are slowly turning to scrambled eggs.

It's awful, ds is 3 now and my brain only now feels like its working as before pregnancy. Evolution for you

It's not that i can't think, it's more that i can't be bothered. Where usually i would agonise about work i just do the bare minimum now. It's quite nice actually.

I have a saying - I used to be an intelligent woman, then I had kids!
Seriously, I am still an intelligent woman, but my memory is shot to hell. It seems to get worse with every subsequent pregnancy. I can remember friends phone numbers from junior school, but ask me what I did yesterday and I'll most likely give you a blank look.
I do return to some semblance of normality when the baby is about 3 years old, but until then, if it's not baby related, I've already forgotten.