How Pregnancy Brain Has Made Me More Mindful
By: Dominica Morris
The moment that my pregnancy test read the words Pregnant, pregnancy brain immediately kicked in for me. What is pregnancy brain you may ask? I can tell you I had no idea what it was either but I was definitely experiencing it some days worse than others. And before you start heading to WebMD to see what serious ailment I’m suffering from, I can assure you I’m fine. Pregnancy brain consists of moments of forgetfulness, the inability to stay focused, and just plain mental fogginess. At first it was annoying I would forget halfway through a sentence what I wanted to say, I would leave a pile of clothes in the washing machine, or forget my lunchbox on the kitchen counter. There have been many moments where my husband Caleb would ask me “Are you okay”, while I’m trying to find my words.
But as annoying as pregnancy brain can be, it has also been the one thing that has kept me completely at peace and calm in stressful situations and honestly has been one of the best pregnancy symptoms I’ve got. Although there’s a debate within the scientific community whether it is a real phenomenon, it may come as a surprise to some of you that there might be a real scientific reason why pregnancy brain happens. Some scientists and doctor’s believe that pregnancy brain is the brain’s way of filtering out unnecessary information so that a pregnant woman can solely focus on keeping herself and the baby healthy throughout the pregnancy and this is exactly how I have felt throughout this time.
Yes, there have been moments of worry and stress, but I always seem to snap back out of it almost immediately. When I do worry or start to feel anxious, it almost never feels as intense as my usual anxious filled moments have felt in the past, and I usually will find a solution to a problem much quicker because of this. Pregnancy brain has also helped me stay focused on the moment. I seem to no longer worry about the past as much, and even planning for our new addition to the family hasn’t been nearly as anxiety filled as I thought it would be. It’s been such a fun and exciting few months and I’ve been completely at peace. For this I am eternally grateful for pregnancy brain and I hope I can continue to find this inner peace after I’ve given birth.
How to Stay Focused with Pregnancy Brain
Keep a daily planner or notebook on hand
Use your phone’s reminder app
Keep items in designated spots
Get a lot of sleep
Meditate and exercise