I can’t remember where I put my keys?
Now, if only I could remember where I parked the car… (standing in the middle of a shopping mall’s parking lot).
No, I don’t remember you telling me to pick that up after work…
Sounds familiar?
Well if so then your probably pregnant OR you have a newborn OR your have children at home….for years we’ve been hearing and sometimes even received not so fun comments about our ‘mom brain’ or ‘mommy brain’. I personnally experienced this unforgiving mom brain with each of my pregnancies and the second one was the worst, I literally felt dumb during my pregnancy because I couldn’t even remember basic things which I used to remember all the time.
So I decided to get find someone who could explain the truth about the brain fog or mom brain we feel and actually have when we are pregnant and become mothers. Don’t worry it’s not all bad, there are some surprising perks for our brains….well…eventually.
So today you’ll hear from a North Vancouver Canadian mom of 2, who calls herself an obsessed with brain hormones neuroscientist, Dr. Liisa Galea. The 101 on her is that she is professor in the department of psychology and a member of the Centre for The Brain Health Director of the Graduate Program of Neuroscience and a scientist Advisor at Women’s Health Research Institute at the University of British Columbia.
A plus, she was among the first researchers worldwide to study hormonal control of adult neurogenesis and the impact of motherhood on the brain in later life. So get ready to learn some ‘I can’t believe it’ fun facts about your mom brain, your baby and how having a boy VS. a girl can affect your brain.
Listen To The Episode!
Apple Podcasts (leave a review) / Stitcher / Spotify / Soundcloud
What You’ll Learn In This Episode:
0-7:40 Intro
7:40 Why she decided to focus on the maternal brain?
9:15 Why most studies are done on the male brain.
11:35 The ratio of men vs. women researchers
12:10 The message she wants to send to people about the maternal brain.
14:45 The importance in grey matter & how it affects the mother’s brain.
17:45 Postpartum depression & the shrinkage of grey matter
18:15 The cell production decreases in the maternal brain.
22:20 How having a few kids can impact your brain differently.
23:45 Short Term Effects (maternal mental disorders) & Long Term Effects of the Maternal Brain
27:50 When is it the worse time for your mommy brain
29:05 The most common mommy brain example for mothers is this….
29:45 Spatial Impairment in our maternal memory influenced by your baby’s gender
34:40 The risk of dementia for mothers
37:15 Tips for mothers to have a healthy brain
40:00 The LAST question
Connect With Our Guest:
Ressources Mentioned In This Episode:
- Dr. Liisa Galea –April 2019 Research Paper- “The long and short term effects of motherhood on the brain.”
- Dr. Laura Glynn
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