New Delhi, January 19 (IANS). A new research has revealed shocking facts regarding changes in the brain of women during pregnancy. This study found that 94 percent of the gray matter of women’s brain changes.
The team from Spain’s Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) analyzed women’s brains for the first time using neuro-imaging technology. They found that 94 percent of the brain’s gray matter, about 5%, is lost during pregnancy, which partially returns after childbirth. These changes especially occur in those parts of the brain that are associated with social cognition.
This research has been published in Nature Communications Journal. This also included those women who were not pregnant. Researchers from UAB, the Gregorio Marañon Health Research Institute and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute were part of the study in collaboration with other prestigious international institutions.
Researchers reported that significant changes occur in the brain during pregnancy and beyond. These changes are deeply linked to the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy and the mental state of the mothers.
Research found that during the first pregnancy, gray matter in the brain reduces by 4.9 percent, and partially recovers during the postpartum period.
“These changes are seen in 94 percent of the brain, with areas particularly prominent in areas associated with social understanding,” the study said.
There are major fluctuations in the two major estrogen hormones during pregnancy. These hormones increase rapidly during pregnancy and return to normal levels after delivery.
The researchers found that a greater increase and subsequent decline in estrogen levels was associated with a greater reduction in brain gray matter volume and subsequent recovery. This study shows that pregnancy and the time after childbirth bring many changes in the brain of women.
–IANS
AS/
