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Pregnancy alters woman's brain 'for at least two years'

bbc.com

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Re: Pregnancy alters woman's brain 'for at least two years'

#71

Post by oconnor0 »

majkinetor wrote: post #61
radicalbyte wrote: post #55

Anecdotally I can say it has a large effect on the male brain too. The lack of sleep and time changes you. You get ruthless against time stealers and start seeing 6 hours as a nice long sleep. Full disclosure : I've had about 8hr sleep in 3 days,two sick kids...

That is irrelevant as it is consequence of life style change. Many mothers do not change lifestyle. This however makes me think how much of the woman change is due to the life style change which is mandatory in given situation for majority of mothers and how much is programmed.

> Many mothers do not change lifestyle.

I'm not sure what you mean. Babies necessitate a change of lifestyle if only because they demand to be fed in the middle of the night.

Re: Pregnancy alters woman's brain 'for at least two years'

#72

Post by vanderreeah »

quickben wrote: post #60
radicalbyte wrote: post #55

Anecdotally I can say it has a large effect on the male brain too. The lack of sleep and time changes you. You get ruthless against time stealers and start seeing 6 hours as a nice long sleep. Full disclosure : I've had about 8hr sleep in 3 days,two sick kids...

Yep, 5 month old here, teething. Short term memory is impacted.

Still, impressive typing skills for your age.

Re: Pregnancy alters woman's brain 'for at least two years'

#73

Post by asveikau »

discordianfish wrote: post #59
partiallypro wrote: post #51

I always wonder about claims like this from both sides. I see people claiming pregnancy alters a woman's brain, miscarriages can cause postpartum depression, but then see claims that abortions do not effect the brain at all. The third I find hard to believe given the first two. And I know this is a touchy topic, but I am pro-choice yet find it a bit baffling that we ignore some of the science behind its effects on th…

> I see people claiming pregnancy alters a woman's brain, miscarriages can cause postpartum depression, but then see claims that abortions do not effect the brain at all. The third I find hard to believe given the first two. The reason a miscarriage can cause depression while an abortion usually does not is because the former is against a women's will and the other her choice. I find that quite obvious to be honest.

I am not an expert but I don't think postpartum depression happens because people consider all rational possibilities and conclude that depression is the most logical option. It happens to them because of physical changes during and after pregnancy. It's not like they can just will away those physical changes, or rationalize their way out.

Kind of like how with other types of depression the sufferer can intellectually understand why there is no reason to feel the way they do - but they still do.

Re: Pregnancy alters woman's brain 'for at least two years'

#75

Post by cli »

oconnor0 wrote: post #71
majkinetor wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is irrelevant as it is consequence of life style change. Many mothers do not change lifestyle. This however makes me think how much of the woman change is due to the life style change which is mandatory in given situation for majority of mothers and how much is programmed.

> Many mothers do not change lifestyle. I'm not sure what you mean. Babies necessitate a change of lifestyle if only because they demand to be fed in the middle of the night.

There are cultures where the grandparents or other relatives mostly take care of the children while the mother works (some parts of China), and there are people who pay for nannies to take care of the children at night.

Re: Pregnancy alters woman's brain 'for at least two years'

#77

Post by mistermann »

dsacco wrote: post #41
mistermann wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW my wife underwent a drastic personality change after giving birth, and I would definitely agree with this being one of the symptoms. But just one data point of course.

I really don't want this to come across as rude, because I don't mean to single you out or invalidate your experience (or your contribution to discussion!). That said, what is the purpose of offering your anecdotal experience if you acknowledge that it is an n=1 datapoint? I understand that it's in good faith to acknowledge that your personal experience doesn't offer any statistical rigor to an interpretation of the…

> That said, what is the purpose of offering your anecdotal experience if you acknowledge that it is an n=1 datapoint?

I'm not sure I understand your question...the grandparent of my comment noted an aspect of the article, someone replied to that casting doubt, and I replied (that fwiw) I had observed similar behavior.

Historically one couldn't draw conclusions without an exhaustive study, does that now also apply to anecdotes on forums? I've read hundreds of anecdotes on HN so far this morning, are all of those inappropriate?

Re: Pregnancy alters woman's brain 'for at least two years'

#78

Post by dang »

caminante wrote: post #8
kagamine wrote: post #6

"women's brains"? Or was it just one lady? Come on journalism, be clear in your meaning.

Stop trolling. And they compared these women's brains with those of 19 first-time fathers, 17 men without children and 20 women who had never given birth.

> Stop trolling

Whoa. That's uncivil and a borderline personal attack, which isn't allowed on HN. Please assume good faith when commenting here.

Re: Pregnancy alters woman's brain 'for at least two years'

#80

Post by clinta »

radicalbyte wrote: post #55

Anecdotally I can say it has a large effect on the male brain too. The lack of sleep and time changes you. You get ruthless against time stealers and start seeing 6 hours as a nice long sleep. Full disclosure : I've had about 8hr sleep in 3 days,two sick kids...

FTA: And they compared these women's brains with those of 19 first-time fathers, 17 men without children and 20 women who had never given birth.

So the findings seem to be unique to mothers.

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