Reveal how pregnancy changes the brain of mothers and for how long

A study led by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has evidenced that 94% of the gray matter of the brain of mothers, especially in areas linked to social cognition, is modified during and after pregnancy as a result of hormonal changes of pregnancy.

Published in the magazine ‘Nature Communications’, the study has distinguished the biological effects of pregnancy from those caused by the experience of motherhood thanks to the inclusion, for the first time, of a group of non -pregnant mothers, couples from which they do The child in his belly, as reported by the university in a statement.

This double analysis has allowed the research team led by Camila Servin-Barthet and Magdalena Martínez-García to discover that The change in gray matter is associated with the fluctuations of two hormones that increase exponentially during the gestation process and return to their normal levels after childbirth.

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Monitoring a year after birth

The brains of the 179 women who have participated in the study have been analyzed by magnetic resonance during the second and third trimester of pregnancy, in addition to a half -year follow -up after the child’s birth.

Likewise, the team has discovered that the volume of Cerebral gray matter From the first -time mothers, almost 5% is reduced during pregnancy, a loss that partially recovers after childbirth.

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In addition, the study has also related that those mothers with greater recovery of gray matter after childbirth reported a stronger bond with their son six months after birth.

This work, which has received a financing of $ 999,773 from the ‘La Caixa’ Foundation, represents a crucial advance in the knowledge of the maternal brain by establishing a scientific basis for future studies on neuroimaging and maternal mental health.

(With EFE information)

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