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Pregnancy restructures the brain to prepare for childbirth and parenthood

A case study has revealed widespread changes to the maternal brain during pregnancy. This is a milestone in the emerging neuroscience of ‘matrescence’ — the idea that pregnancy is a developmental stage in adulthood.
By
  1. Clare McCormack

    1. Clare McCormack is in the New York University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center, New York City, New York 10016, USA.

  2. Moriah Thomason

    1. Moriah Thomason is in the New York University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center, New York City, New York 10016, USA.

Brain changes during pregnancy have been mapped in detail for the first time. Writing in Nature Neuroscience, Pritschet et al.1 report a case study of a single participant who completed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at 26 timepoints: 4 before pregnancy, 15 during pregnancy and 7 in the first 2 years after childbirth. The researchers detect widespread anatomical changes throughout the brain, which might reflect the refinement of neuronal connections in preparation for birth and caring for a child.

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Nature 636, 583-584 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03942-w

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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