Baby-brain - real or urban myth?

[beanlet]

The reason I ask is because I've got a mega interview I should be madly preparing for on Wednesday, for a mega-bucks academic grant. . . but I'm 34 weeks pregnant, and I reeeeeallly can't be bothered.

Is there a possibility that baby-brain, which I've always sneered at, really does exist -- or is it just a sign maybe that subconciously I don't really want to get the grant?

Well I like to think of myself as an intellegent and well educated person but the last couple of weeks (am 33 weeks pregnant) my memory and attention span seem to be working a lot less and generally feeling a bit dipsy/ditsy??? My DH seems to think this is hilarious and I am finding it quite easy to laugh off!

Not sure where you live but if it is UK the weather prob isn't helping with the cant be bothered feeling and also you have other things on your mind. I have found thinking about LO in my belly has been taking priority over anything else in my brain and am day dreaming or thinking about him most of the time.

So go easy on yourself but if it is something you want then you're going to haveto knuckle down and just get on with the prepartion for it!

Good luck

I am only 6-7 weeks gone. And I vote real.

Surely, if you can't sleep properly, are hormonal and having all the nutrients sucked out of you by a parasitic organism... you will not be at your very best?

I was sceptical but have to say I'm increasingly forgetful (am 20+3) and generally ditsy! DH finds it quite amusing, but is also getting slightly annoyed when I ask him the same question 4 times in 5 minutes...

i dont know if its a technical thing that exists, but ive certainly experienced times where that would be the best explination!!

REAL.

Sorry, what was the question?

Real, I was studying when pregnant, at first signs of baby brain I didn't remember what I had read, so I started writing summaries to help me remember things. But it become so bad that at some point the only thing that convinced me that I had read or written the summaries was that they were in my handwriting, other than that, no recollection whatsoever of reading or writing that...

Definately real - how else would a person manage to go to the loo and forget to pull her knickers down? . I'm 21+5.

Real. Very real. After the day I've had I have definitely confirmed this, for me at least. It's as though I have lost the ability to think clearly, consistently and stay focused.

I strongly suggest (and I had to check your interview date more than once) you focus on this interview and it alone until you have done it. Bar doing the ususal look, listen, look again before you cross roads etc.....

Good luck!

Sorry forgot to say I'm 39 weeks pregnant

Enough said

I'm sure I read somewhere about our brains shrinking... though that sounds like a bit of twoddle.

Anyway, I can't go into a room without forgetting what I'm ....god, I just lost the thread of what I was writing. That wasn't even a rubbish joke. So maybe you should take some notes with you on Wednesday. Good luck, at least you can blame the bump.

I don't really believe in it tbh.

Sure if you are in the early or late stages you might be so knackered you can't think straight or get motivated, but no more or less so than if you were tired for any other reason - over exersion, mild illness, etc. Or you might be mentally distracted by your pregnancy if you are worried or excited or whatever.

I'm 38 weeks and often can't be physicaly arsed doing stuff due to my massive size and insomnia, but I don't feel any less mentally sharp than normal.

I read an article recently (can't remember where - poss even on here!) that said it's officially rubbish. BUT I'm convinced that the tiredness that's common in the 1st and 3rd trimester (and for many incl me, the 2nd too!) MUST have an impact on your memory and ability to concentrate. There, that's my attempt at a scientific explanation based on no research but my own experience!
Good luck with the interview.

I imagine it's one of those things that affects some people but not others - I haven't had it but I'm hesitant to say that it's a myth given how differently different people react to pregnancy. I'm 28 weeks and not noticing any difference in memory or concentration unless I haven't slept.

I vote for it being down to a combination of lack of sleep (both pre and post arrival), feeling generally grotty, needing to find the nearest toilet and / or having a small person wriggling in your belly distracting you.

TBH, my pg was blamed for a number of stupid things I said or did at the time (by myself or others), but we all do stupid things from time to time anyway...

Wait until you've had the baby...it is even worse then!! i am convinced they will sack me when i start back at work for being a complete idiot!

Not sure about getting ditsy, but I certainly share your 'can't be bothered' feeling. Have serious lack of motivation issues!

So reassuring it's not just me! It's even worse today in all this heat! I guess I just have to get my head down and do my work regardless. At least from Thursday I can take a rest and think baby thoughts

I thought that there was some research that suggests your memory improves substantially after giving birth?

Complete urban myth. Why would it be good for our evolution for mothers to get stupider? Yes, there's been some recent research that finally debunked this but I can't remember where I read it - will go and look in my Files . But of course the tiredness and stress or worries about being pregnant or having a tiny baby to look after might make you feel slower - it did for me! But you haven't lost IQ points!

I can't say that I have noticed feeling much different, to be honest.

I didn't honestly think it actually made you less intelligent, but more that being tired and having to juggle so many things makes you more likley to forget or get muddled with things. That's my excuse anyway!

I think it's definitely real. Not only are you tired and dealing with a cocktail of hormones that make you feel unlike yourself during pregnancy (not to mention the myriad of physical symptoms that can take your mind off other things if you are feeling sick or in pain or just too damn large to DO anything), but after the birth I found that what happens is that there is forever and at all times a part of your brain that is totally concentrated on your child. You're not actually any less mentally competent than you were before. It's just that 10% or more of your brain is tuned in to something outside yourself.

You spend so long trying to work out what the hell is going on in your child's mind when they are tiny and unable to tell you in words that you sort of lose the habit of thinking only for yourself and some of your brainpower is forever after given over to making sure your child is all right. This may not make much sense to people who have not yet lived the newborn stage (I don't think I would have believed it myself)! My child is now three and I am starting to see the glimmers of getting that bit of my brain back as she starts to become more of an autonomous person with the capacity to solve her own problems.

I think the BBC had a news item about baby brain being proven false a few months ago.

However, I think the researchers said that while nothing actually happens to the brain, women just tend to be more tired and distracted towards the end of pregnancy, which makes sense. I know the waking up in the night has really been getting to me lately, and I've had so much to organise, work has almost been the last thing on my mind.

It was an Australian study and widely reported in the press a few months ago. (I remember because I reported on it for local NCT newsletter! ).