New study shows how the brain completely reorganises itself during pregnancy

Scientists have captured exactly what happens to the brain during pregnancy and some of the changes last for years.

Pregnancy is a huge undertaking that has an effect on everything from your biological age to the make-up of your brain.

Now, scientists have captured in detail the dramatic reorganisation of the brain that happens during pregnancy, with the help of MRI scans.

For the first time, researchers have been able to visualise the neural changes in a mother’s brain by taking precision MRI scans every few weeks, starting from before conception all the way through to two years post-childbirth.

The healthy 38-year-old woman who conceived her first baby via IVF underwent a series of 26 brain scans and blood tests to monitor the hormone changes throughout pregnancy.

Scientists were able to monitor changes in the brain. The results revealed that there is a steady decrease in grey matter – the wrinkled outer part of the brain – as well as a short-lived peak in neural connectivity towards the end of the second trimester.

Results were published in Nature Neuroscience, where experts theorised that the temporary increase in white matter deeper in the brain, as well as the decrease in grey matter, may suggest that the brain could be exhibiting neuroplasticity in response to the behavioural adaptations necessary for parenting.

iStock

The changes may potentially be a sign that the brain is “fine-tuning” its circuits and specialising, much like the human brain does during puberty, with some of the changes persisting long after childbirth.

Professor Emily Jacobs, a researcher on the study at the University of California, Santa Barbara, explained: “The maternal brain undergoes this choreographed change across gestation and we’re finally able to observe the process in real time.”

The study’s lead author, Laura Pritschet, said, “85 per cent of women experience pregnancy one or more times over their lifetime, and around 140 million women are pregnant every year,” and added that she wanted to “dispel the dogma” that exists around the fragility of a woman during pregnancy.

She also hoped that the research would help to “deepen our overall understanding of the human brain, including its ageing process.”

There is also hope that the research data may contribute towards future studies that deepen our understanding of a woman’s risk of experiencing postpartum depression – something that affects around one in five women.

“There are now FDA-approved treatments for postpartum depression,” Pritschet said, “but early detection remains elusive. The more we learn about the maternal brain, the better chance we’ll have to provide relief.”

Sign up for our free indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings