Our brain changes in postpartum tend to throw us for a bit of a loop with challenges we aren’t always prepared for. Our brains change drastically during pregnancy, postpartum, and while breastfeeding.
Pregnancy brain….Mom brain….Baby brain….
Chances are you’ve used one of these terms, or someone you know has jokingly referred to one of them.
Usually, the term, or variation of it, is used as a slur.
When you do something seemingly “dumb, forgetful, or stupid” that you never would have done before. Overall, it tends to be seen as not really a positive thing.
However, there is quite literally a huge amount of biological changes that happen in a woman’s brain when she is pregnant, gives birth, and is breastfeeding. Although there are absolutely some challenges that come along with these changes, they are positive things that are protective to a woman’s mental health during this transitional time and we are diving into all of it within this episode.
In this episode, Julia and I discuss the many changes that our brain goes through during this time, and challenge you to view it in a different manner. Mom brain has been referred to with disdain and frustration because of the challenges it presents. Let’s shift the narrative, and instead focus on the entire picture of “Mom brain”. What it is, why we have it, and how important it can be overall. We invite you to further this conversation with us in The Postpartum Circle Facebook group. We’ll see you there.
Episode at a glance: Your Brain in Postpartum with Julia Jones: Ep 42
- Introducing Julia
- Brain health and the postpartum brain
- Mom brain
- The biological brain changes that occur during these transitions
- Physical shrinkage of the brain
- Positive aspects of these changes
- Research in this area
- Changes within our brains with multitude of children vs. one?
- Are the changes permanent?
- Living in a patriarchal world
- Empathy and Compassion
- Heightening of Senses
- Julia’s book “Newborn Mothers” (this can be found on her website shared above)
- Our brain changes & postpartum depression/anxiety
- The drastic changes in society in the last 100 years
- The opportunity to change your brain
- Intuition vs. instinct
- Learning to be a mother and breastfeed takes time, learning, and experience.
- Brain changes happen in two different ways
- Biological Changes and Environmental Changes
- How to encourage some of these changes when fostering or adopting a child
- Links to find Julia Jones are listed above!
