Rebranding the ‘Mommy brain’
New insights into the mental load imposed by motherhood and its impact on the maternal brain leads to call for drastic change in the way we respond to the mental health of new mothers.
The transition to motherhood has a huge impact on the mother. Among the physical changes experienced, many new mothers will speak of ‘mommy brain’, as if having a child impairs brain function. Yet the authors of an article in the latest issue of medical journal Nature Mental Health argue that this popularly used term misses what is really going on. A more accurate, holistic view could significantly improve support for new mothers.
Photo by Dakota Corbin
In their article, authors Bridget L Callaghan, Clare McCormack, Pilyoung Kim and Jodi L Pawluski address biological changes linked ot motherhood but also the explore the wider context that can contribute to the ‘mental load’ imposed on motherhood – and to suggest ways to better address it.
That mental load may include factors such as poverty or single parenthood. It may also involve the impact of support structures – or lack of them – whether that be institutional policies or the rise seen in what the authors call ‘intensive mothering ideologies’. There’s also the way a person’s social role can change when they become a mother.
The article says: ‘Arguably, the greatest impact on women’s mental health is the transition to motherhood. It is also a time when society dismisses the wellbeing of the mother for the wellbeing of the child, “blaming” her for how the child is developing, but without providing adequate support or resources for her as a parent or a person.’
So what can be done?
The authors make a number of recommendations. First, they suggest that the term ‘mommy brain’ needs to be revised, in recognition of the fact that the issue is often less to do with brain capacity than with external pressures.
They suggest a new framework to incorporate ‘personal, familial, institutional, societal, and political’ context, as well as changes in the brain itself. Rather than assessing mothers by their ‘mood’ – good or bad – they suggest a more holistic approach, taking into account such factors as domestic labour, caregiving support and discrimination experienced by the mother. There may be many more such factors involved, say the authors.
‘We urge future researchers to consider this framework when studying maternal mental health more broadly,’ they conclude. ‘There is an urgent need to approach research with an understanding of what the majority of mothers experience to make advances in supporting a healthy transition to motherhood.’
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