Trending: Parenting Changes Dads’ Brains Too

Anyone who’s experienced “baby brain” knows that it can be disorienting to forget basic information or not quite feel like yourself.

Those sensations are all valid and come with a huge explanation: Pregnancy literally reshapes a mother’s brain.

• Brain rewiring: Pregnant moms’ brains shed gray matter—about 5% overall. 

• Smarter for motherhood: Expectant mothers’ brains change in the areas that impact empathy and bonding, in anticipation of the work of motherhood. In second pregnancies, those changes become even more fine-tuned.

• Long-lasting effects: The effects of this brain rewiring can last up to six yearsafter having a baby.

• Gray matter rebuilds: Mother’s brains rebuild gray matter in the first weeks, months, or potentially years after birth. Pretty incredible!

Moms aren’t the only ones who experience a brain reconfiguration in preparation for a baby.

New research shows dads’ brains also conduct a bit of “pruning” and gradually reduce gray matter in the first few months postpartum.

The loss of gray matter isn’t as substantial as what moms experience, but the changes indicate that fathers' brains change to become primed for caregiving.

There are so many questions about the effects of brain changes for postpartum moms.

More research could help us learn more about the long-term impacts and the link with postpartum depression, which impacts one in eight women in the U.S.

TL;DR: Parents' brains change (maybe even forever) after welcoming children, and that’s astounding.

👋 Are you an expectant or new mom (or do you know one) looking for community? NPN will be (re)launching a New Moms Group this fall. Stay tuned! 

In Chicago Parenting News:

• This Chicago-area college exists virtually even after it closed its physical campus in May.

• Chalkbeat reports that most schools decided to keep their assistant principals even after CPS cut funding.

• CPS’ budget is in the works for next year, but the Chicago Sun-Times reports that  these important school resources will remain untouched.

• The Illinois Department of Early Childhood will now perform the work done by three former early childhood state agencies.

Parenting IRL: Tips to Simplify Parenting

The pressure to do “all the things” as a parent can feel insurmountable at times. This is a topic we’ve been chatting about in this newsletter in recent weeks, and it’s the subject of a forum post that’s resonating with many NPN community members.

One parent asks for advice on how to simplify parenting and family life beyond trimming down activity lists. How can you do less while still providing for your children without feeling guilt or FOMO?

What do you do about the pressure you feel from your children, friends, or yourself to do it all? Let us know how you maintain balance.

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