“Mommy brain” is a term people use to talk about the forgetfulness and confusion new moms often feel. It’s pretty different from dementia, a serious condition where people gradually lose their memory and thinking skills. While they might seem a bit similar because both can involve forgetting things, they’re actually really different in terms of what causes them and how long they last.
When someone has “mommy brain,” it’s usually because of changes in hormones and not getting enough sleep after having a baby. These changes can make it hard to concentrate or remember things, but this usually doesn’t last long. It’s like the brain’s way of adjusting to taking care of a baby, even making some moms better at understanding emotions and doing many things at once.
Dementia, on the other hand, is when the brain starts to lose its abilities for good, mostly in older people. This is due to actual damage in the brain, like losing brain cells or harmful proteins building up. Alzheimer’s disease is one type of dementia that many people have heard of.
Even though “mommy brain” can make a new mom feel a bit out of sorts, it doesn’t mean she’s more likely to get dementia later on. Both situations show how the brain can adapt to new challenges but also how it can be affected by more serious health issues.
Scientists are looking into how being a mom affects the brain and how all our experiences and even the environment we’re in can impact our brain health over time. Understanding this better can help us support new moms and also find better ways to treat or prevent dementia.
Sources:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8076589/,
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/14761/?utm_source=gquery&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=gquery-home#:~:text=Small%20studies%20support%20the%20existence,research%20needs%20to%20be%20done.,
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286729/#:~:text=Many%20of%20the%20risk%20factors,many%20of%20these%20risk%20factors.
- https://www.bswhealth.com/blog/is-mom-brain-real
