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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Pregnancy brain lapses 'a myth' | Pregnancy brain lapses 'a myth' |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Expectant mums need to stop blaming their bump for memory lapses, say experts who want to dispel the "baby brain" myth. | Expectant mums need to stop blaming their bump for memory lapses, say experts who want to dispel the "baby brain" myth. |
| Neither pregnancy nor motherhood addle a woman's brain, say the researchers based on their study of 1,241 women both before and after having babies. | Neither pregnancy nor motherhood addle a woman's brain, say the researchers based on their study of 1,241 women both before and after having babies. |
| The Australian researchers say we have been misled by a fallacy. | The Australian researchers say we have been misled by a fallacy. |
| Any absentmindedness might be adaptive, shifting attention to the baby, the British Journal of Psychiatry says. | Any absentmindedness might be adaptive, shifting attention to the baby, the British Journal of Psychiatry says. |
| Lead researcher Professor Christensen said: "Part of the problem is that pregnancy manuals tell women they are likely to experience memory and concentration problems - so women and their partners are primed to attribute any memory lapse to the 'hard to miss' physical sign of pregnancy. | Lead researcher Professor Christensen said: "Part of the problem is that pregnancy manuals tell women they are likely to experience memory and concentration problems - so women and their partners are primed to attribute any memory lapse to the 'hard to miss' physical sign of pregnancy. |
| It is about time that some research lays to rest this notion of pregnant women and the 'baby brain' myth Cathy Warwick of the Royal College of Midwives class="" href="/2/hi/health/8496245.stm">Read your comments | |
| "Pregnant women may also shift their focus away from work issues to help them prepare for the birth of their new baby, while new mothers selectively attend to their baby." | "Pregnant women may also shift their focus away from work issues to help them prepare for the birth of their new baby, while new mothers selectively attend to their baby." |
| But she said this shift should not be labelled a "cognitive deficit". | But she said this shift should not be labelled a "cognitive deficit". |
| Fallacy | Fallacy |
| Her team from The Australian National University followed up the large group of women at four-year intervals using memory tests. | Her team from The Australian National University followed up the large group of women at four-year intervals using memory tests. |
| During the course of the study more than half of the women fell pregnant, but this did not appear to have any impact on memory. | During the course of the study more than half of the women fell pregnant, but this did not appear to have any impact on memory. |
| The test scores remained unchanged before and after pregnancy and did not differ greatly between the group of women who became mums and the group of those who did not. | The test scores remained unchanged before and after pregnancy and did not differ greatly between the group of women who became mums and the group of those who did not. |
| Professor Christensen and her team said: "Not so long ago, pregnancy was 'confinement' and motherhood meant the end of career aspirations. | Professor Christensen and her team said: "Not so long ago, pregnancy was 'confinement' and motherhood meant the end of career aspirations. |
| "Our results challenge the view that mothers are anything other than the intellectual peers of their contemporaries. | "Our results challenge the view that mothers are anything other than the intellectual peers of their contemporaries. |
| "Women and their partners need to be less automatic in their willingness to attribute common memory lapses to a growing or new baby. | "Women and their partners need to be less automatic in their willingness to attribute common memory lapses to a growing or new baby. |
| "And obstetricians, family doctors and midwives may need to use the findings from this study to promote the fact that 'placenta brain' is not inevitable." | "And obstetricians, family doctors and midwives may need to use the findings from this study to promote the fact that 'placenta brain' is not inevitable." |
| Cathy Warwick of the Royal College of Midwives said: "It is about time that some research lays to rest this notion of pregnant women and the 'baby brain' myth. | Cathy Warwick of the Royal College of Midwives said: "It is about time that some research lays to rest this notion of pregnant women and the 'baby brain' myth. |
| "The physical and emotional stresses on a woman's body from pregnancy can make women feel more tired than usual. | "The physical and emotional stresses on a woman's body from pregnancy can make women feel more tired than usual. |
| "As we all know tiredness - for men as well as women - can make us lose concentration and cause us to function less effectively. | "As we all know tiredness - for men as well as women - can make us lose concentration and cause us to function less effectively. |
| "This is why midwives encourage pregnant women to take appropriate rest breaks, at home and at work. Many pregnant women will need this rest, and all of them deserve it." | "This is why midwives encourage pregnant women to take appropriate rest breaks, at home and at work. Many pregnant women will need this rest, and all of them deserve it." |