--- title: Pregnancy Symptoms: Is Pregnancy Brain A Myth? description: Forgetfulness. Lack of focus. A foggy mind. Pregnancy brain is real to many women, but when researchers study it, results are mixed canonical: https://time.com/4107058/pregnancy-brain/ author: Markham Heid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-11T12:00:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:27.128Z article:section: Health og:title: You Asked: Is Pregnancy Brain A Myth? og:description: Forgetfulness. Lack of focus. A foggy mind. Pregnancy brain is real to many women, but when researchers study it, results are mixed og:url: https://time.com/4107058/pregnancy-brain/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f2b8d60a564a3ce/6987870be20a87e4aea85f2f/482143981-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=414&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 414 og:image:height: 233 og:image:alt: pregnant-belly-side-view og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Asked: Is Pregnancy Brain A Myth? twitter:description: Forgetfulness. Lack of focus. A foggy mind. Pregnancy brain is real to many women, but when researchers study it, results are mixed twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f2b8d60a564a3ce/6987870be20a87e4aea85f2f/482143981-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=414&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You Asked: Is Pregnancy Brain A Myth? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=36e16e4f-c25a-4bdb-b3d2-f4cbb5ce95c6&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why Do I Need a Flu Shot? TIME Explains [Watch (HLS stream): Why Do I Need a Flu Shot? TIME Explains](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jxdi6F8H.m3u8) (2:20)  _Published 2013-11-04. If you think it's one and done like a measles vaccine, think again. The flu virus is ever-changing and mutating. So this year health experts created new vaccines that can protect you from upto 4 of the latest strains._ by [Markham Heid](https://time.com/author/markham-heid/) ## Markham Heid Markham Heid is a contributor at TIME. He is the author of The Habit Trap, due out in early 2027. Nov 11, 2015 12:00 PM UTC  Close up profile of pregnant Japanese woman Close up profile of pregnant Japanese woman Getty Images by [Markham Heid](https://time.com/author/markham-heid/) ## Markham Heid Markham Heid is a contributor at TIME. He is the author of The Habit Trap, due out in early 2027. Nov 11, 2015 12:00 PM UTC Forgetfulness. Lack of focus. Occasional foggy-mindedness. Ask a new or expectant mom if “pregnancy brain” is real, and most will laugh (or groan) and say there’s no doubt about it. But when researchers have gone looking for proof of these cognitive hiccups, the results have been mixed. A talked-about [2014 study](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13803395.2014.912614) from Brigham Young University found no memory or attention issues among pregnant or postpartum women compared to matched controls. “Objectively, the pregnant and postpartum women and non-pregnant women performed equally well in the cognitive tests,” says Dr. Michael Larson, a clinical neuropsychologist and coauthor of the BYU study. But subjectively—that is, when women were asked to rate their own performance on the tests—the pregnant and postpartum women felt they’d done poorly compared to their non-pregnant counterparts. “There’s this cultural stereotype that women are supposed to suffer cognitively during or after pregnancy,” Larson says. Belief in this stereotype could hamper some women’s confidence in their cerebral acuity even though their brains are working just fine, he says. But the BYU study is not the final word on the subject of “pregnancy brain.” Importantly, Larson says all the women in his experiment were tested “in ideal circumstances.” That is, he and his colleagues controlled for sleep, stress and other factors that could disproportionately affect pregnant and postpartum women outside the lab. “There’s likely a disconnect between real-world functioning and ideal-experiment functioning,” he says. “But our goal was to see if women’s cognitive abilities changed during or following pregnancy, and we didn’t find evidence of that.” In the “real world,” there’s little doubt pregnant and postpartum women have to contend with factors that may affect their thinking, says Dr. Louanne Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of [_The Female Brain_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Female-Brain-Louann-Brizendine/dp/0767920104). During the first few months of pregnancy, a woman’s progesterone levels soar to 20, 30 or even 40 times their normal levels, Brizendine says. This hormone is a potent sedative, and its surge explains why some women may feel especially worn out during the early stages of pregnancy. (The BYU study only involved women in their third trimester.) “This progesterone surge doesn’t mean you lose smarts or brain function,” Brizendine says. “It’s just that you feel sleepy a lot of the time.” While a woman’s brain and body become accustomed to the uptick in progesterone as her pregnancy progresses, other hormonal fluctuations—as well as body changes and discomfort—often lead to restive sleep. So does having to deal with a newborn at all hours of the night. “It’s not reasonable to think that a woman could go through all the hormonal and physical changes of pregnancy and not have it affect her brain just as it affects her body,” Brizendine says. At the same time—and as the BYU study underscores—a pregnant woman’s brain doesn’t become somehow deficient or less capable, she says. All of this can start to seem like semantics. But because some might use “pregnancy brain” as an excuse to justify workplace practices that discriminate against women, the semantics can prove important. “Modern fathers live and breathe all of the pregnancy stages along with their partners, feel much of the same stress and distraction, and are often just as involved in post-natal care and middle-of-the-night feedings,” Brizendine adds. In the real world, dads are often as likely as moms to grapple with poor sleep and preoccupying thoughts—though they don’t suffer from the stereotypes Larson mentioned. Expectant couples aside, few of us walk into work fully rested and unburdened by stress or distraction. Even hunger [can mess with our ability](http://time.com/4010208/hangry-low-blood-sugar/) to think clearly. So while researchers keep unpacking “pregnancy brain” and its sociopolitical implications, it’s safe to say that all people—including pregnant women—occasionally have to work with somewhat encumbered brains. ## Transcript It's time for your annual flu shot. But will the vaccine protect you? Here's what you need to know. It's flu season which means it's time for your annual flu shot. So, the question always is: Why do we need to get a shot every year? Why isn't the influenza vaccine more like measles or rubella or polio, where it's one undone and you're protected for years if not for life? Well, you can blame the influenza virus for that. It has gotten so good at mutating to bypass the effects of the vaccine that we have to get rearmed against whatever circulating that season each year. So, every spring, officials at the World Health Organization convene influenza experts and they decide which strains of the virus should be included in the upcoming season's vaccine. They do their best to look at which strains are emerging in people who are starting to get sick with flu but it's a guess. It's and educating yes, but it's still a guess. So, why did they make this decision so early? Nearly nine months before the first sneezes and cough start? Influenza viruses are grown on chicken eggs and in order to grow enough virus to fill those vaccines, it takes several months. This year, when you go to the doctor, you'll have far more choices than you've had before. You could still get the traditional flu shot which contains three different influenza strains and kids who are afraid of needles can get the nasal spray. And for adults who are needle- phobic, there's also a micro needle version, which contains a smaller needle that gives a little less painful job. And for the first time this year, there's also an influenza vaccine that protects against four different flu strains. So, it gives you a little more protection once the season starts. And the elderly can also get a little extra dose from a high dose vaccine that protects their weaker immune systems and gives them a little bit of a boost. For those who are allergic to eggs, there's also a cell- based flu vaccine that allows them to get vaccinated against influenza for the first time. So, given all this choice, there should be something for everyone. 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