Baby Development – International Congress on Women's Mental Health Finds Motherhood Makes Women Braver, Faster, and More Laid-Back

By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist

Upon reading theabove  title, you may find the statement to be a bit of an oxymoron.  Being a new mother can be a day to day struggle with lack of sleep, diaper changing, new worries about your baby, and finding your memory isn’t what it used to be.  That being said, it may be hard to believe motherhood can actually make you faster and more laid-back.  Sounds unbelievable, but it is  true.  New research discovered that motherhood is actually good for the brain; making mothers less stressed, faster, and more courageous.

Presented this week at the International Congress on Women’s Mental Health in Melbourne, a new study found that having a baby causes neurological changes that ensure a “good” mother.  As all female mammals change behaviors after giving birth, those are typically behaviors that are associated with a mother’s ability to protect and care for her young.

Craig Kinsley, professor of Neuroscience at the University of Richmond, released this series of tests performed on rats.  The young mother rats demonstrated increased memory and maze negotiation skills, in addition to decreased fear and stress.  Kinsley was quoted by ABC online as saying: "Mothers become more protective of their offspring and will defend against a predator twice their size".

This series of studies also indicate that these new motherly behaviors last a lifetime, as they remained with the rat mothers for up to 26 months.  Twenty-six months in rat years is the equivalent of being around 80 years old for humans.  The new motherly behaviors can be attributed to the immense hormonal fluctuations a woman undergoes during pregnancy and lactation.  By measuring brain activity, Kinsley tracked these variations through a variety of techniques including differences in gene expression.

As it turns out, motherhood actually makes the brain more pliable, allowing it to respond to the demands of survival.  When comparing a mother rat to one who has not given birth, the mother’s ability to catch her food markedly surpassed the rat with no offspring.  In addition, Kinsley found the nursing mother rat's vision to be superior which made her faster and more efficient at catching prey.  If you are wondering how physicians can apply this animal testing to humans, to Kinsley the answer is clear.  If mothers are lacking adequate amounts of a crucial neurochemical, such as oxytocin, they can be given a boost of the chemical at a time when interaction between mother and baby are most critical- during initial bonding.