Forgetfulness and Pregnancy
I can't recall if I experienced memory loss when I was pregnant. I was so nervous that I decreased my activity level and I worked very little to reduce my stress level. However, some women do experience problems with their memory and according to the following article, there may be a real reason. Read more:"No longer dismissed at just "one of those things" you must deal with while pregnant, some medical researchers are addressing the problem by investigating various possible causes for the short-term memory loss. For instance, it has been suggested that it is the change in sleep patterns during pregnancy that affect a woman's ability to remember information, rather than changes to the brain. Also, a plethora of well-meaning health articles stress that an upcoming birth is more than enough to overwhelm an expectant mother, with thoughts and concerns plaguing her so that her memory may be more hazy than usual.
SEE ALSO: PREGNANCY OVER 40 (getpregnantover40.com)
Other studies attribute weakened memory to iron-defienciency during pregnancy. If your body doesn't have enough iron to fuel hemoglobin production for you and your baby, you're likely to develop iron-deficient anemia. Some common symptoms of anemia include fatigue, weakness, irritablity and yes, forgetfulness. From about the twentieth week of pregnancy, the little life inside you has been using up much of your iron intake, so break out the lentils and green leafy vegetables!But let's not forget the hormones. Always the hormones. According to a 1998 report in Fit Pregnancy magazine, at least one study has found that pregnant women's brains get smaller in the third trimester. British researchers scanned the brains of ten moms-to-be during their last trimesters and again a few months after their babies were born and discovered that brain cell volume decreases during pregnancy, only to plump up again sometime after delivery. The researchers speculate that hormones cause the shrinkage; they hope further study will prove their hypothesis.
from:
Memory Loss During Pregnancy
by Rani Long
