Introduction: You’re Not Going Crazy—You’re a Mom
This morning, while making breakfast, I opened the fridge to put away the eggshells, and was about to throw the egg yolks in the bin instead of the frying pan! Yes—it happened. I laughed at myself, but deep down, I wondered, “Is something wrong with me?”
If you’re a mom and you have had similar moments, I just want you to know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and definitely you’re not broken. It is what we call ‘Mommy Brain’.
Oh yes! It is not merely an internet joke limited to memes only. Mommy brain is a real, scientifically acknowledged, and documented phenomenon. And I believe it’s time we discuss it seriously.
What Is a Mommy Brain?
Now, let’s move on to the most important part of this blog, where we will unfold what mommy brain is, its symptoms, and how long it lasts.
I believe it is important to get insight into this topic, especially when you’re the one experiencing it. Let me break it down into smaller segments for better understanding.
Definition of Mommy Brain
Mommy brain refers to the foggy, forgetful, and mental confusion many women experience during pregnancy and early motherhood. It’s an implicit, common, real response to the physical and emotional changes a mom goes through.
Symptoms of Mommy Brain
The normal symptoms that indicate that you have mommy brain include:
- Forgetting daily tasks or missing appointments
- Trouble focusing or finding the right words
- Misplacing items frequently
- Feeling distracted or mentally foggy
- Short attention span
- Physically present but mentally absent
How Long Does Mommy Brain Last?
To our intrigue, how long does this mommy brain last? Well, the answer is that mommy brain can start during pregnancy and may last for several months to a few years after childbirth.
However, it may differ for each mom. For many, it gradually fades as sleep improves and routine gets settled.
What Causes Mommy Brain?
Mommy brain is basically caused by a mix of hormonal changes, brain restructuring, sleep deprivation, emotional stress, and the mental load of caring for a child. Definitely, this new mom role is crucial for women, and they adapt to these changes, but it can affect their memory and focus.
Let’s explore each cause one by one.
a) Hormonal Changes in Pregnancy & Postpartum
It is truly right to say that hormones are responsible for changes in women’s bodies. During pregnancy, our bodies are flooded with hormones like estrogen and progesterone, and after childbirth, those levels drop drastically.
This sudden change, which we can see as a rollercoaster, doesn’t just affect our moods; it actually impacts how our brain functions.
Studies have shown that these shifts can change our ability to process and recall information. It’s not about your brain going into a vacuum zone; it’s your body doing some deep rewiring.
b) Brain Restructuring: Your Brain Literally Changes
Believe it or not, becoming a mom actually reshapes your brain—and this isn’t just a metaphor. A major study published in Nature Neuroscience (2017) used MRI scans to track first-time mothers and found that their gray matter volume shrank in specific areas related to social and emotional processing.
These changes weren’t signs of loss—in fact, they were signs of adaptation. Your brain is fine-tuning itself to help you read facial expressions, respond emotionally to your baby, and bond more deeply. Read the full study here.
Even more recently, a 2024 report in Nature highlighted that the entire cortex shrinks by nearly 5% during pregnancy. While much of the brain volume returns after birth, some areas—especially those tied to empathy and self-reflection—may stay changed for years.
This shows just how deep and powerful the transformation into motherhood really is.
Explore the latest findings here. Thus, to all the moms out there, your brain isn’t just getting foggy; your brain is busy upgrading itself for motherhood.
c) Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation comes as an unwanted gift as soon as you become a mom! You have probably heard the most cliché sentence, I must say: “Sleep when the baby sleeps…” Ahhh! That’s so unnatural. IT IS NOT PRACTICALLY POSSIBLE to get your sleep while the baby is asleep. All you can do is take a short nap, which lasts for max 20 minutes at a time.
Sleep is a luxury, I must say, which new moms at least can’t afford. As for the moms of toddlers or kids, you’re brutally tired, exhausted, and sleep-deprived all the time because your work never finishes. You are on your toes 24/7, multitasking like a superhero.
Since you cannot have the proper sleep that you deserve, with chronic sleep deprivation, your short-term memory and attention span naturally take a hit. That’s not poor planning—that’s pure survival mode.
d) Mental Load of Motherhood
Motherhood is challenging. Even when we’re not physically doing anything, our brains are constantly functioning. Be it a grocery list, lunch or dinner menu, laundry, school homework, cleaning, doctor’s appointments, and so on—our brain is constantly juggling these tasks.
Since our brain can’t stop thinking and is in a constant mode of juggling, planning, and switching between multiple tasks, it is natural that our attention span might not be 100% dedicated to one task at a time, and that is completely normal.
This “mental load” is invisible but constant—and it exhausts our cognitive resources. You might forget the milk, but that’s only because you’re busy remembering everything else.
These are the things that only a mother could understand…
e) Emotional Stress & Identity Shift
Oh yes! Becoming a mom doesn’t just change your lifestyle; it is a total identity shift. All of a sudden, you become responsible for a tiny human’s survival! All your concerns, your thought process, your actions, and your priorities shift from yourself to the little one, because you are considered to be responsible for this tiny being.
Your social life changes, and so does your personal life, because now the little one is demanding all your time. You’re trying hard, trying to keep all the things together. And during all this chaotic routine, you are on an emotional ride daily! Your emotions change all of a sudden, and a feeling of self-identification and who you have become hits hard at times. Because you’re unable to follow the same lifestyle and routine that you used to!
For example, I clearly remember myself—after having a baby, I left my job to take care of her, and meanwhile, my whole routine changed. The night skincare routine was replaced with just a splash of water on the face, roaming around in PJs all the time, trying to find a balance between this new phase of life and me being myself, who I used to be—all of this contributes greatly to mental and emotional stress.
As for others, their life are the same; nothing has changed for them. But for you, everything has changed, and you’re still figuring out how to make all things work altogether. During this phase, most moms lack emotional support, and the result is frustration at times.
That emotional transition can impact how our brains respond to stress, memory, and focus. It’s heavy.
It is for this reason that I have emphasized seeking therapy if you ever feel that you’re on the verge of breaking. Don’t let that happen. Emerge yourself as a strong woman and embrace yourself for the wonderful job you’re doing.
So basically, all these factors contribute to your brain being a Mommy Brain!
Final Words
I decided to write down this blog with all my heart due to the fact that I have faced similar situations where I used to forget things, keep something in one place and forget, get milk overboiled and spilled while doing other chores, and completely forget something is on the stove. Also, getting zoned out sometimes, and the urge to be understood when others may mock that you have become so forgetful.
Hopefully, this blog uncovers that there’s not a single cause of mommy brain; rather, it is a perfect storm of emotional, physical, and mental shifts happening all at once.
These changes help moms adapt to their new roles, but can affect both memory and focus.
Hence, these symptoms are not in your control; they just appear, grow on their own, and will go on with time, which is different for everyone.
So next time, if you ever feel yourself being too forgetful or going crazy, take a step back and brush it off by saying, I am a super mom, it is just a phase, that too shall pass. Likewise, if anyone tries to make fun of or joke about it, no need to get hurt, because it is just your mommy brain, which you can’t help!
Take care and love yourself, mommies…!
