‘Baby brain’ refers to a state of forgetfulness during pregnancy but according to new research, it may also have a useful purpose.
Psychologists have said that changes in the brain during pregnancy are designed to help mothers bond with their babies.
A study led by Dr Victoria Bourne at Royal Holloway, University of London, has found that pregnant women show increased activity in the part of the brain associated with emotional skills.
Dr Bourne said: “Our findings give us a significant insight into the “baby brain” phenomenon that makes a woman more sensitive during the child bearing process”.
The team based their results on findings from examining the neuropsychological activity of 39 pregnant women and new mothers whose babies were nine weeks old on average.
This particular study used a faces test which focuses on images made of one half of a neutral face combined with one half of an emotive face.
This allowed the researchers to see which side of the participants’ brain is used to process positive and negative emotions, emotion is associated with the right side of the brain while the left side is associated with logic.
Dr Bourne said: “We know from previous research that pregnant women are more sensitive to emotional expressions, particularly when looking at babies’ faces.
“It seems the extra sensitivity occurs during pregnancy so that a woman is attuned to her baby straight after the birth.
“It could be said to help develop a mother’s intuition so they are very sensitive to the baby’s needs”, continued Dr Bourne.
The research is to be presented at the British Psychological Society’s annual conference in Birmingham.
