Do you remember the time when you felt a bit out of touch with yourself, especially your brain because you were so forgetful during pregnancy? And everyone around you just jokingly said, “hahaha, pregnancy brain”. However, you realise that this pregnancy brain is still a thing couple of months post-partum. Could it be mom brain fog?
Well, there you have it mom brain is a real thing, not just experienced during pregnancy but even post-partum. Here is why: It is well-known that a woman’s physical changes during pregnancy is unavoidable, however there are less discussions on the neurobiological effects that pregnancy has on a woman’s brain. Did you know that when a woman is pregnant, the gray matter in her brain shrinks? Ok, firstly what is gray matter?
‘Gray matter is the portion of the brain where processing and responding to social signals happens, so the fact that a postpartum mother often struggles with these issues makes sense.’ However, one of the main contributors to brain fog is that the oestrogen and progesterone levels are also at an all-time high during pregnancy, these changes are presumed to contribute to brain fog. And when those levels drop postpartum, this may continue to contribute to the fog as well.
“We attribute a lot to hormonal changes in pregnancy—nausea, headaches, irritability—but the symptoms are not all physical,” Dr. Jones said. Whereas the hormonal changes also have a big impact on the brain and cognitive skills – especially memory.
So as mothers, is there any way we can improve the affected cognitive skills? Yes, through what we call brain gym activities.
These include:
· Crossword puzzles
· Memory game apps
· Board games – i.e scrabble
· Reading newspapers, novels, bible or any books of one's interest
Other factors that may affect mom brain fog are nutritional deficiencies. “It’s been suggested that if someone is poor in nutrition, their memory can be affected. They may be lacking DHA, choline, Vitamins C and D, all which can affect memory and concentration,” Dr. Jones said.
You know when they say food for the brain, this is when you would need to eat foods that are high in nutrients that are good for brain functioning. The doctor suggests examining your diet to see how you can get more nutrients and working with a registered dietitian if you need personalized support. You can also talk to your OBGYN about getting a bloodwork panel to assess what supplements may be needed. I know for a fact that I need to look into being more consistent with taking my supplements and adding some vit c and d to my daily dose because our daily intake of food lately is not enough when it comes to giving us the nutrients that our bodies require, especially postpartum.
The article also discusses the importance of enough sleep and I thought to myself, how am I expected to get the 8 hours of sleep that is being suggested especially when these experts know that with being a mother our sleep is compromised? Well, I thought let me give this a chance and see how I can work these suggested, because it is said that sleep directly affects attention, response times, learning ability and memory. Therefore, insufficient sleep can have a direct negative impact on those cognitive skills.
So, the advice is establishing a nighttime routine for yourself, this for me meant establishing a good nighttime routine for my little ones too. When the little ones are put to bed, this means I should also prepare my body for sleep. This means setting up and sticking to a specific bedtime, creating a tranquil atmosphere and turning off all screens an hour or so before you sleep, the last one will definitely require discipline because this is the time when one catches up on messages and social media.
For me as a mental health Occupational Therapist it will only mean practicing what I mean because all of this is what I recommend to my patients, but I will need to be just as committed and consistent on implementing them.
Alright mommies. let’s try work on these suggestions… Tell me how it goes.
For your sake and for your child’s sake!
Your OT Boy Mom
Katiso