'Baby brain'- is it a thing??

[JuneySunshine]

Hello,

Currently 17w and just told my employer about my pregnancy which has started me thinking (obsessing!) about things I'll need to wrap up at work before maternity leave and the reality of doing that while getting more heavily pregnant.

I've heard about 'baby brain' and wanted to hear experiences of this from others who are or have been pregnant. Is it an actual pregnancy symptom? Has it affected you? How? And from what stage of pregnancy? Or is it just something people say to reflect general tiredness/ distractions of later pregnancy/ having a young baby?

I'm lucky to work from home but I'm getting paranoid I just won't be able to get by at work as it can be challenging and take all my concentration/ motivation at the best of times!

Tia

Didn’t have it while pregnant first time round or this time and work in a job that requires good brain power. But I did notice that after giving birth I found it harder to remember words and it made me thankful I didn’t have to deal with US-style short mat leaves. I think it was partly tiredness. All was fine within a few months though.

I started zoning out of conversations and would agree/acknowledge requests and then have no idea what had been discussed. This started at about 30 weeks pregnant and I struggled on at work for another 6 weeks.

I was determined that pregnancy wouldn’t effect my work and I was wrong 😬

@JuneySunshine

Hello,

Currently 17w and just told my employer about my pregnancy which has started me thinking (obsessing!) about things I'll need to wrap up at work before maternity leave and the reality of doing that while getting more heavily pregnant.

I've heard about 'baby brain' and wanted to hear experiences of this from others who are or have been pregnant. Is it an actual pregnancy symptom? Has it affected you? How? And from what stage of pregnancy? Or is it just something people say to reflect general tiredness/ distractions of later pregnancy/ having a young baby?

I'm lucky to work from home but I'm getting paranoid I just won't be able to get by at work as it can be challenging and take all my concentration/ motivation at the best of times!

Tia

I did not have "baby brain" whilst pregnant, but I did feel quite dim after both my children were born, tasks took longer, I made mistakes I would not normally have made etc. but I put that down to the sleep deprivation that normally happens with a newborn.

Not for me. had 4 straightforward pregnancies and births, but that was before 'baby brain' was invented.

I’m 32 weeks and I’m lot more forgetful than I would be normally, I think some of that is tiredness though. I have also lost my sense of direction. I’ve always had a good sense of direction. I don’t really get lost, I can take a wrong turn but I can work out which direction I need to be going in and generally find my way again. So I don’t tend to get stressed when I am lost as I know it’s more temporarily misplaced. I did a site visit when I was about 16 weeks pregnant and I couldn’t find the person I was meant to be meeting, they had to come find me. On my way out, I just had to walk across a field to get to the road out. I stood in the middle of the field and I couldn’t work out which gate I’d used as an entrance. I couldn’t recognise where I’d walked not even an hour earlier. I stood in the middle of the field and I was getting quite upset because I couldn’t find my way out. I really felt lost, which was ridiculous because the guy I met was just over the other side and I could have asked for his help (although I didn’t want to because my pride got in the way and I didn’t want to look like a silly woman). It took me 3 attempts (only two tracks out) and a couple of minutes stood in the middle of the field to work out which direction I needed to head in.

100% is a real thing. I'm 20+4 and from quite early on in my first trimester I started suffering from baby brain, especially at work. I can't remember even the simplest things now, need to make sure things are written down or they don't exist. Find it hard to concentrate and focus at work which I'm finding the hardest so I'm less productive. Forget what people have said to me immediately after the conversation.

I've always had a pretty good memory so this has been a massive change to get used to! It can't not be real.

Not noticed it tbh. Worked to 38 weeks each time as a solicitor. First trimester with my first I was REALLY ill and had to double check some pretty simple legal concepts before sending out advice, but that was sheer exhaustion, dehydration and frankly I shouldn't have tried to keep working until the sickness had eased.

I am 32 weeks and so far my memory and capabilities at work have been absolutely fine - but I absolutely do not give a shit any more as they’ve decided not to employ any full time cover for me, so if they think they can do without my role for the next year then why make any effort now?

My boss asked if I was pregnant because of it! 😂 she said it as a joke so was shocked when I said ' oh yeah I am!' 😂

Mine started at around 6 weeks and I'm now 12 weeks after baby number 2 and it's not showing any signs of going 😆

Didn’t happen to me at all, also working in a demanding job. I do have migraine related aphasia that has got a lot worse since pregnancy, I wonder if some posters have that too (and are missing getting help because of the’baby brain’ label). (I have migraines without headaches so not getting headaches wouldn’t mean you aren’t having migraines.)
(I know it’s a migraine because it instantly stops when I take a triptan.)

I forgot my postal code. I forgot my house numer twice and had to go outside to see what it was. I put the peanuts in the fridge and the toilet paper on the kitchen counter (leaving tge toilet empty so to speak). I forgot an important medical appointment.

I have a great memory when not pregnant. But when I'm pregnant I'm foggy. It lifted soon after birth though, I think 2 months or so?

I was seriously worried that I might develop dementia because it runs in the family. Who on earth forgets their house number!

I found the remote in the fridge....

Oh gosh!

Sounds like its pot luck as to whether it hits in pregnancy/ after or not at all then. Thank you everyone for telling me about it- has anyone ever mentioned this to their midwife? Wondering if there's a supplement etc that might help or if it's all just hormone driven and unavoidable?

Some of your experiences have had me laughing as well -@InTheNightWeWillWish hope you've had no more field related mishaps since
I probably just need to relax, remember its temporary and all part of the experience.

And it lasts for quite a long time after birth too- studies have shown differences in how the brain of a post partum woman works for five years after birth.

How would you seperate that from effects of sleep deprivation in the brain though which mainly women suffer from for years post baby?

Nope, not for any of mine. Which was fortunate as my job during those years was literally life or death and with what people describe would have had people dying all over the place and me prancing around going ‘it’s okay - baby brain’ . Funnily, I don’t recall any pregnant colleague who has ever appeared to suffer from this either, swollen legs/feet and other physical maladies, sure but mental incapacitation, nope.

I’m wondering if what people are experiencing is migraine related, where migraines are kicked off by change in hormones due to pregnancy? Not all migraines are associated with headache and what many describe would fit the bill. I have one (adult) child, never pregnant, who gets these and would fit the bill for ‘baby brain’ as described and this is how they know they have the migraine.

Not for me. I think sleep deprivation is to blame for a lot of post-baby 'baby brain' incidents! But mentally I was totally the same through pregnancy as before it.

I actually felt way more engaged and on the ball when I went back to work - but I work for myself so I needed to make every moment I had count!

I had it post birth for sure, superwoman about their needs, but couldn't concentrate on reading a book for years after (English literature graduate and writer). Hormones have huge effects on us. But also sleep, mental load, caring. I was sharper and more effective in many ways though, so its not all bad.

Nope, not happened to me. Still continue to make important decisions with a level head. In the first trimester I was more tired but that is about it ...

I was all good at work, but I did silly things like leaving the keys in the front door