# Pregnancy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2000, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205 "2000-07-20T03:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ballan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Ballan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ballan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/1 "2000-07-20T03:54:42Z")
Does a womans brain shrink when she is pregnant? Is this a medically proven fact. Enquiring minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Wood\_Thrush](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b38774/32.png) [@Wood\_Thrush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wood_Thrush)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/2 "2000-07-20T04:12:56Z")
I don’t believe they shrink to a quantifiable degree. But I’ll look it up for you. ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/3 "2000-07-20T04:21:18Z")
It only SEEMS that way. ---
**Author:** ![Wood\_Thrush](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b38774/32.png) [@Wood\_Thrush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wood_Thrush)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/4 "2000-07-20T04:32:19Z")
No mention on many searches. I can’t imagine how simple human hormones would cause brain shrinkage, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/5 "2000-07-20T04:56:32Z")
I know I posted a reply to this, yet it isn’t here. Anyone care to comment on that? ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/6 "2000-07-20T05:14:15Z")
The human brain stores a lot of cholesterol (sp?) for energy. I suppose it is possible that a pregnant woman’s body uses that energy for something else when it is devoted to the task of creating another human being. The brain might shrink, but the effect on intelligence would be negligible in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/7 "2000-07-20T09:56:41Z")
It takes a woman 80,000 calories to go through the gestation process. But their brains don’t shrink. Energy is not stored in the brain. The brain uses about 20% of the energy the body produces. So, during pregnancy, the female logic centers are shut down to save energy. They usually never start up again afterward. 🙂 SARCHASM The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/8 "2000-07-20T10:01:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silver\_Fire \* > \*\*I know I posted a reply to this, yet it isn’t here. Anyone care to comment on that? \*\* Whenever that happens to me, it is because I have made an incredible asshole out of myself and the moderator has done me the kindness of removing the post before everyone else finds out how stupid I am. As far as YOUR replies disappearing, I wouldn’t hazard a guess. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/9 "2000-07-20T12:59:53Z")
**Silver\_Fire** , I suspect that you replied to the copy of this thread that appeared [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=31409), in About This Message Board. **tcburnett** , to the best of my recollection, I have never edited or removed a post of yours (except perhaps for a double post; I don’t really keep track of when I remove those). If you believe that I am in error or if posts of yours seem to have disappeared mysteriously, please drop me an email. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/10 "2000-07-20T13:02:09Z")
I don’t know the answer to this one, except to agree that it does SEEM that way. I will say that it wouldn’t surprise me a bit to hear your something this bizarre happens during pregnancy. I was absolutely stunned at how many changes happened–not just getting fatter. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/11 "2000-07-20T16:55:21Z")
The bulk of the dry weight of the brain is (I believe) composed of phospholipids. Phospholipids can be broken down to make certain vitamins and vitamin-like substances (cholin, inositol and biotin, IIRC). If a pregnant woman isn’t getting enough of these substances in the diet, it is _conceivable_ that it could break down the brain’s phospholipids to produce them. This is mostly supposition based on some not-very-trustworthy (i.e., possibly wacko) books I read about nutrition several years ago. I don’t remember that the books mentioned pregnancy-related brain shrinkage _per se_, but I think they did mention age-related brain shrinkage as it related to deficiencies of these substances. In reality, I’m not sure that cholin and inositol have ever been proven to be necessary nutrients. Biotin is considered to be a real vitamin by reputable experts, but the other two were still under investigation the last I heard. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/12 "2000-07-21T14:21:58Z")
Yes, a woman’s brain does shrink during pregnancy, according to a study using MRIs by the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London. See [http://www.medicalpost.com/mdlink/english/members/medpost/data/335/30b.HTM](http://www.medicalpost.com/mdlink/english/members/medpost/data/335/30b.HTM) They don’t know why the brain shrinks, but there are speculations, such as, “It is also possible the fetus is capturing maternal lipids and proteins to build its own central nervous system (CNS).” ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/13 "2000-07-21T18:07:02Z")
Just a note: crossposting is not allowed on this board. I have closed this same posting in About This Message Board. I dunno about pregnant women’s brains, but the original poster’s is certainly up for some speculation. your humble TubaDiva Adminstrator ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/14 "2000-07-21T18:41:32Z")
Well, since the implied question is does pregnancy make women stupid, I should mention some research on pregnancy and cognition I saw presented at a conference a year or two ago. They tested pregnant and non-pregnant women on a variety of cognitive tasks (memory, math, etc.) and then asked them how well they thought they did. The pregnant women rated their own performance lower than the non-pregnant group did, but there were actually no differences in performance. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pregnancy/26205/15 "2000-07-21T19:34:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > \*\ ***Silver\_Fire** , I suspect that you replied to the copy of this thread that appeared [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=31409), in About This Message Board. > \*\* Right on. Thanks, Manny.