
Pregnancy/Baby
Momnesia
By Shannon Howell Baker
2008 issue
Do you go into a room, completely forgetting why you went there?
Do you forget appointments? Do you put your milk in the pantry
and your cereal in the refrigerator? You are most likely suffering
from “baby brain,” making you forgetful and distracted.
Australian researchers have confirmed women do become more forgetful
during and after pregnancy. Dr. Julie Henry from the University
of New South Wales says that her study is the first to confirm
that “baby brain” is a real condition. She says it
makes pregnant women and new mothers struggle with complicated
tasks. Dr. Henry says the subtle memory loss can last for up
to a year, but more research is needed to discover the cause. “People
have proposed that it might be as simple as sleep deprivation,” she
said.
“We know that during this period, fatigue is going to be
a major issue, we also know that there’s been a whole lot
of biological mechanisms that have been proposed, for instance
hormonal change. But the truth is, we really don’t know the
answer to that one.” As USA Today reported, “Few parents
enjoy feeling so scatterbrained,” says neuropsychiatrist,
Louann Brizendine, author of The Female Brain. “And momnesia
can be dangerous, such as when moms forget to fasten the straps
in an infant’s car seat. You’re on the mother beat
all the time. It requires certain parts of your brain to work hyper,
hyper, hyper well. But it requires other parts of your brain to
play second fiddle.”
I will admit, it can be scary at times, thinking things like, you
might stick your hand in the garbage disposal while it is running.
You start to understand how a mother could go into the mall and
forget that her child was in the car. The best thing that you can
do is to prepare yourself. Let the people around you know what
you are going through, and ask them to help you keep yourself in
check. It will be a time to get extremely organized, and some sort
of day planner is a must.
Keeping important items in a special place, like
your keys, cell phone and charger will help. Don’t try to
do too much – your
body needs time to recover and you are able to use your pregnancy
and new baby as a very good reason to say NO. Ask your family and
friends for help, eat well and get as much sleep as possible. When
the baby is sleeping you will be tempted to want to get things
done, but it can all wait – you need to rest. When you are
awake, take a walk with your baby in the stroller. It can help
clear your mind, kick in endorphins and get you on the road to
health. This time is about you and your baby, but don’t forget
the YOU in that equation. Take care of yourself so that you can
take care of the baby; treat yourself to some yoga, massage, meditation,
journal writing and rest. Ask for help – other moms especially
love to help new moms. It is like a club we join, and we never
forget the initiation!
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