Changes in intelligence across pregnancy and the postpartum period

Abstract

Although the popular press describes pregnancy-related cognitive decrements, sometimes called “baby brain”, controlled studies have not consistently found reliable evidence of a decline in cognitive function during pregnancy. A functional approach measuring components of intelligence as they change across the trimesters of pregnancy and into the postpartum may help resolve this puzzle. The current study was a longitudinal study in which pregnant women and a control group took standardized IQ tests at 12-week intervals. We found no evidence of overall cognitive decline in the pregnant group, and the IQ scores of pregnant women increased more than non-pregnant control participants across matched time intervals. The increase in raw scores of fluid intelligence subscales was not statistically significant, nor was it significantly different than the increase in the control group.