'Baby brain' gets the official nod
Natasha Wallace Health Reporter
February 6, 2008
MOTHER NATURE can be so cruel: just when a pregnant woman might need to multitask, research has confirmed that the long-suspected "baby brain" effect kicks in, as suspected, and may impair memory for up to a year after birth.
An Australian analysis of 14 research studies around the world since 1990 provides "clear cut findings" that pregnancy impairs memory for up to 80 per cent of pregnant women and new mothers.
The study by the University of NSW and Australian Catholic University compared the memory performances of more than 1000 pregnant women, new mothers and healthy non-pregnant females.
"The results indicate that pregnant women are significantly impaired on some, but not all, measures of memory. And, specifically, memory measures that place relatively high demands on executive cognitive control may be selectively disrupted," the study said.
"The same specific deficits associated with pregnancy are also observed post-partum."
But Julie Henry, a study author and psychology researcher at the University of NSW, emphasised the effect was "very, very subtle".
"It's a pretty modest deficit similar to what you would find if you were to compare healthy 20 year-olds with healthy 60 year olds," Dr Henry said.
She added that remembering an appointment or errand were among the possible effects. Before this analysis, evidence on the baby brain effect was subjective and anecdotal. Opinion varied considerably on its magnitude and longevity.
But the studies showed that between 50 and 80 per cent of women reported impaired cognitive ability, particularly increased forgetfulness.
Dr Henry said this gave employers no justification for discrimination.
The cause is not known, and theories include hormonal changes and sleep deprivation.
When does baby brain happen and is it real?
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if that isn't baby brain, then i don't know what is!!! 
last nihgt i went to the shops minus my bra!!!!!!!!!!
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