In an earlier study, Elseline Hoekzema and her team showed for the first time that pregnancy can change the structure and function of the human brain. In this new study, researchers at Amsterdam UMC followed 110 women to see how the first and second pregnancies bring different changes to mothers' brains.
Of the total participants, some became mothers for the first time, some had their second child, and others did not have children. By using repeated brain scans, the researchers were able to see exactly how the brain changed.
Published in Nature Communications, the study found that during the first pregnancy, the biggest changes happened in the brain's "default mode network." This area helps with thinking about oneself and understanding others. During a second pregnancy, this area also changed, but not as much. Instead, there were more changes in brain networks linked to attention and how we respond to things around us.
"It appears that during a second pregnancy, the brain is more strongly altered in networks involved in reacting to sensory cues and in controlling your attention", explains researcher Milou Straathof, who analyzed the data. "These processes may be beneficial when caring for multiple children."
The researchers also saw a connection between brain changes and how strongly mothers bonded with their babies. This link was stronger during the first pregnancy than the second. They also found that some brain changes were connected to depression during and after pregnancy. For first-time mothers, these depression-related changes were most noticeable after childbirth. Meanwhile, for women having their second baby, they appeared more during pregnancy itself.
"This knowledge can help to better understand and recognize mental health problems in mothers. It is important that we understand how the brain adapts to motherhood," the researchers concluded.
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