Increasing evidence suggests that the gestational period is a unique time of heightened neuroplasticity in adult life. Neuroimaging studies exploring women before and after pregnancy suggest that first-time mothers undergo remodeling of brain architecture that predicts postpartum maternal attachment to the newborn. These maternal brain changes are driven by gestational hormones, including steroid hormones, and follow a U-shaped trajectory, with an initial decrease in cortical gray matter (GM) volume during pregnancy, followed by a partial recovery in the postpartum period.

Despite these observations, no previous study has traced the complete trajectories of human brain change from preconception through pregnancy and postpartum, integrating multimodal neuroimaging data, endocrine assessments, and neuropsychological information. Therefore, a multidisciplinary group of researchers conducted a multicenter study to discover the complete brain trajectory during the transition to motherhood and its connection with steroid hormones and maternal attachment. Pilar Prats, director of R&D in Clinical Obstetrics at Dexeus Mujer, participated in the study.

The study included 127 women in their first pregnancy, who underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging in five sessions: before conception, in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and during the postpartum period, one month and six months after childbirth, as well as resting-state magnetic resonance imaging before conception and one month and six months after childbirth. To distinguish the impact of gestational factors from parenting-related factors, images were also collected at similar time intervals from 20 female partners of the women included in the gestational mothers’ group. Lastly, to account for brain changes unrelated to maternity, 32 childless women with no plans for pregnancy or motherhood were scanned.

The results showed that the U-shaped trajectory is predominantly linked to gestational factors, as it only appears in gestational mothers and correlates with estrogen fluctuations over time. The study also reveals that the general well-being of the mother plays a crucial role in the recovery of GM volume and the relationship of attachment six months after childbirth. According to the authors, these findings open the door to identifying specific periods during pregnancy and postpartum when experiences and interventions can have the greatest impact on maternal brain health and psychological well-being.

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