t pregnant women and young mothers lost not only their identities but their intelligence, new research suggests otherwise. In one study, a group of pregnant women were asked to assess their mental acuity in areas such as focus and memory. A significant number of these women
identified themselves as Sweaker in these areas even though tests performed on their mental ability showed the reverse.
Why would these women see themselves as Sweaker when in fact they were not? Researchers suggest that most women have internalized the myth that being pregnant, staying home with the kids (being barefoot and pregnant) decrease mental and intellectual strength.
In her book, SThe Mommy Brain: How Motherhood makes us Smarter (200
5), Katherine Ellison, who delayed motherhood until she turned 37, for fear that her intellectual life would be doomed by pregnancy, examines the changes that maternity brings to the brain. Her book explodes the myth that the maternal brain is a fuzzy one. Ellison presents several new research studies that have gone against the long-held belief that professional women act against their own intellectual interests by staying home with the kids.
Neuroscientists have found that during pregnancy, rats experienced a tremendous sprouting of new dendritic spines the parts of neurons that reach out to form synapses. They found that soon after birth, female rats" cognitive ability intensifies so much that nursing mother rats can locate and catch prey 3 times as quickly as virgin rats. In essence, neural pathways in the brains of mother rats have been remapped and rewired by the experience of pregnancy and motherhood.
The increased production of estrogen in the pregnant rat also has a pronounced effect on its brain. Estrogen has been shown to increase a mother"s ability to multi-task, an ability that is bolstered as well by the realities of child-care. Multi-tasking allows a woman to identify with several key roles and tasks so that she can function much more effectively within a particular frame of time, in effect, multitasking gives her greater flexibility in accommodating the needs of her social network.
The increased production of oxytocin and prolactin two hormones that literally bathe the maternal brain also helps to foster a relaxeintelligence, motherhood and professionalism seem an artificial construct that has prevented women from developing to their fullest potential. As women, we need to b.comfortable enough with our own biology to accept it as an avenue towards personal and professional growth. We also need to purge ourselves of the view that we are limited in what we can do. Our brains are expansive and can accommodate much more than we think they can. Our bodies can do much more than we allow them to do. The limitation is not in what we have been given, but in what we are willing to make of that which we have been blessed.
Copyright 2005 Mary Desaulniers
A runner for 27 years, retired schoolteacher and writer, Mary is now doing what she loves running, writing,helping people reclaim their bodies . Nutrition, exercise, positive vision and purposeful engagement are the tools used to turn their bodies into creative selves. You can subscribe to Mary's newsletter by contacting her at
Greatbodyafter50secrets.com/ GreatBodySecrets
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