Motherhood and the Brain

From The Atlantic: What Happens to a Woman's Brain When She Becomes a Mother:

"Even before a woman gives birth, pregnancy tinkers with the very structure of her brain. . . .

"Mapping the maternal brain is also, many scientists believe, the key to understanding why so many new mothers experience serious anxiety and depression. An estimated one in six women suffers from postpartum depression, and many more develop behaviors like compulsively washing hands and obsessively checking whether the baby is breathing. . . .

"Becoming a parent looks—at least in the brain—a lot like falling in love. Which helps explain how many new parents describe feeling when they meet their newborns. At the brain level, the networks that become especially sensitized are those that involve vigilance and social salience—the amygdala—as well as dopamine networks that incentivize prioritizing the infant."

Like many other issues, this is not as simple as Nature or Environment. And it's yet another testimony to the wonder of the human body, and to God's image reflected in motherhood.

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!!!