Could baby brain be a myth? Study finds that women with young children have just as good a memory

It is a widely held belief that new mothers suffer from “baby brains” and are prone to forgetfulness and fuzzy thinking.

But a study suggests this may be a myth after people with young babies have as good a memory as non-mothers and are just as mentally sharp.

However, mothers are more likely to believe they have a bad memory – perhaps because society has convinced them that they suffer from ‘baby brains’.

Researchers recruited 43 new mothers with babies aged 10 to 13 months and compared them to 43 non-mothers of the same age, with similar educational attainment.

Both groups undertook a series of tests that lasted 90 minutes, including memorizing word lists, repeating lists of numbers forward and backward, and cracking the link between a series of numbers and symbols.

With more to remember, they are more likely to forget things, so they may mistakenly think their memory has deteriorated

Results, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, showed that there was no significant difference in memory, cognitive function, or mental processing speed between the mothers and non-mothers.

But the mothers thought they had worse memories when they were asked a series of questions about their cognitive performance.

Authors suggest this may simply be because women with babies have a bigger daily to-do list, such as the diaper bag, change of clothes, bottle, snacks, and toys to pack every time they need to leave the house.

With more to remember, they are more likely to forget things, so they may mistakenly think their memory has deteriorated.

Researcher Dr Sharna Jamadar, from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University in Australia, said: ‘There is such a focus on baby brains that it’s becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Women with babies have a lot to do, so they will be more aware when they do things wrong.

‘But there is no measurable difference between mothers and non-mothers. Women need to realize that memory loss has more to do with how much they have to process and not with something wrong with their brains.’

The results also showed that mothers’ perceptions of baby brains may be related to their well-being – their sleep levels, anxiety and depression. Mothers who scored worse on this were more likely to think they had a bad memory.

Women may also believe they have baby brains because of the high stakes of motherhood, authors suggest. A memory loss when you have a baby can have more serious consequences, such as being stranded without changing a diaper or forgetting a special teddy bear, leading to hours of crying.

Dr. Jamadar said, “Motherhood can be really hard and women who want to be super organized are disappointed in themselves when they get things wrong.

“So motherhood may make women more susceptible to minor memory or concentration lapses that might otherwise have been ignored or considered unimportant before having a child.”