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Original poster

'Preghead', 'baby brain'... is it real?

53 replies

porpoisefull · 15/05/2011 19:09

At the moment one of the discussions of the day is all about pregnant women recounting the silly things they do 'because they are pregnant'. When I was pregnant, I didn't find I was any more likely than usual to do daft things and I found it quite insulting that people might assume that I was going to be all ditzy. For example shortly after telling my SIL I was pregnant, I said the wrong word in a sentence, and she jumped on it "Ooh, nappy brain already!"

This study suggests it's a myth, and I've always thought people are keen to attribute to female hormones effects that are probably just the result of feeling knackered, or being distracted by having someone kicking at your insides. If a man with a 3 week old child was a bit absent minded at work, people would call it sleep deprivation not 'baby brain'.

I wondered whether other people here thought it was real or a myth?

OP posts:
motherinferior · 15/05/2011 19:35

It annoys the hell out of me too. I analysed and wrote about a fairly complex bit of legislation at about 36 weeks into my first pregnancy and passed my driving test 37 weeks into my second (five days, in fact, before giving birth). I loathed every minute of both said pregnancies but my brain - unlike my stomach muscles, digestive system and general wellbeing - did just fine.

AdelaofBlois · 15/05/2011 19:32

I think it's rather clear it isn't 'real'-if major things happen to you (and preganncy is about as major as you can get) and you make mistakes, you link the two. The study showed pregnant women were no more absent-minded than non-pregnant ones, just felt they were or blamed the same amount of absent-mindedness on pregnancy. Which is a horrible way of crapping on women's feelings, but does anyone really keep lists of 'absent-mindedness' generally?

I'd be more interested in whether it was useful. My partner hates it-thinks it is used against women but never to help them (especially in the workplace). I, on the other hand, visibly fell asleep in a job interview ten days after DS1 was born, and got given leeway for it 9got the job!). Some women i know think it useful training for accepting the lack of control over body and life that come with pregannacy, a way of handlign the fear light-heartedly.

Any thoughts?

TrillianAstra · 15/05/2011 19:19

If it's due to hormones or due to being very tired, feeling sick often, and/or being kicked on the inside frequently, it's still real that (some) women become much more absent-minded when pregnant. All of those things are still the pregnancy causing the absent-mindedness.