Working memory from pregnancy to postpartum: Do women really change?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Reproductive Psychology
• Human Development

Background:

• Pregnancy is often linked to working memory (WM) declines, possibly due to hormonal shifts.
• Postpartum cognitive function may be further impacted by sleep deprivation and hormonal changes.
• Previous studies lacked control groups to account for practice effects on WM tests.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if mothers and fathers differ in WM during pregnancy and postpartum.
• To determine if mothers experience a postpartum WM decline, considering practice effects.
• To explore potential cognitive changes in fathers during the perinatal period.

Main Methods:

• A control group of fathers (N=44) was compared with mothers (N=75) on WM tasks.
• WM performance was assessed during pregnancy and postpartum.
• Reliable Change Index and regression-based sensitivity analyses were employed to control for practice effects.

Main Results:

• Mothers and fathers exhibited equivalent WM performance at both time points.
• Both groups showed statistically similar rates of improvement on WM tasks over time.
• After accounting for practice effects, most women did not show significant WM changes from pre- to postpartum.

Conclusions:

• The study challenges the notion of significant working memory decline in mothers during the postpartum period.
• Findings suggest that practice effects may explain previously observed cognitive changes.
• The research opens avenues for investigating cognitive changes in fathers during pregnancy and postpartum.