Forgetfulness During Pregnancy: Causes And Measures To Tackle It

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Has it ever happened to you during pregnancy where you realized you are forgetting things? You might want to believe so. Especially if you’ve had episodes where you’ve forgotten something as simple as adding salt to your food. Or as important as remembering the time of your next scheduled appointment. And then, you might have been told that this is pretty common during pregnancy. But is pregnancy forgetfulness really that normal? What are its causes and how can you tackle it? Let us discuss this further.

In This Article

Pregnancy Forgetfulness: A Few Facts

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There is plenty of evidence regarding pregnancy forgetfulness based on personal anecdotes of innumerable expectant moms. And scientific research too has been conducted to study this phenomenon. In one such study, a survey of nearly 236 expectant women was undertaken where they were asked to report cognitive changes during gestation. Surprisingly, 82% of them confirmed experiencing short-term forgetfulness, absentmindedness, and difficulty in concentration (1). Similarly, another study was carried out at the Bristol Maternity Hospital, UK, in regards to pregnancy-related memory loss. Here too, a majority of pregnant women who participated in the study confirmed experiencing temporary memory loss during pregnancy (2).

Causes Of Forgetfulness During Pregnancy

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There may be many reasons that can trigger forgetfulness during pregnancy. Here are a few possible causes for it:

Physical Changes: During pregnancy, a woman’s growing baby bump and increasing weight make it difficult for her to move around. In such a scenario, it becomes hard for a pregnant woman to move around quickly or remember things swiftly as her changing physicality hinders her concentration.

Fatigue: A pregnant woman often experiences tiredness and fatigue. This is due to pregnancy-related symptoms – like nausea and vomiting – which tire out the expectant mom so much so that she is left with no energy to think straight.

Lack Of Sleep: Any person, apart from a pregnant woman, may not be able to concentrate or think well if he/she does not get adequate sleep. For a pregnant woman, the pregnancy symptoms combined with tiredness and fatigue might result in lack of sleep. This, in turn, affects her cognitive skills (3).

Hormonal Changes: During pregnancy, most of the changes that a woman undergoes are driven by her changing hormones. It is now believed that the collective result of these hormonal changes can also result in temporary memory disruptions (4).

Ways To Tackle Pregnancy Forgetfulness

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Now that you know that pregnancy forgetfulness is for real, do not panic much. Here are different ways through which you can tackle this problem:

Do Away With Multitasking: Agreed that women are great at multitasking. However, during pregnancy, your body might actually slow down a bit and will not be able to catch up with your brain. This might lead to a lot of pending ‘to-do’ list on your mind, some of which you’ll eventually forget. So, steer clear of multitasking. Instead, start concentrating and performing one task at a time.

Organize Your Stuff: Whether it is your maternity wear, medicines, your household bills, or your medical documents – sort your stuff and keep them in separate drawers or cabinets. This way you’ll know where to look for them when you need it instead of searching it all around the house.

Keep Smart Reminders: Mark your appointments and important reminders on a calendar which is placed in an area from where it is easily visible to you. This way you will not miss them.

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Prioritize Yourself: Sometimes, your own body sends you a message when it cannot take things anymore. Pregnancy memory loss can be one such thing. So, cut some slack and prioritize your health first. The rest can be taken care of!

Rest And Relax: Lack of sleep and rest is pretty obvious during pregnancy. So, take some time out to rest yourself as much as possible. Practice meditation or yoga, after due discussion with your doctor, to help yourself relax.

We hope that this information has given you an insight into your condition. As you can see, memory loss during pregnancy is a temporary phase. So, do not get stressed about it. Just relax and take plenty of rest, and you should just be fine! Good luck!

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