Oh, No, Where'd I Leave the ... Baby?

'Momnesia': There is some help, if no cure
July 31, 2008 - Diana Aydin, Jewish Exponent Feature

When Jenelle Trader stops by Wal-Mart or the supermarket to pick up groceries, she often forgets what she came for. Sometimes, Trader or her husband may even have to make four or five extra trips, each time going back for an item that she later remembered she was supposed to pick up.

It's not just groceries that are a problem. She bought birthday cards to send for the month of March but "forgot to send them out," and has "left microwaveable meals in the microwave for up to 30 minutes after they were done."

Another time she opened her freezer only to find a pair of scissors.

"I don't remember ever putting them in there," said Trader, 28, of Newark, Del. "I don't know what I was doing with scissors. I had to go in the freezer one time, and the scissors were sitting there and I'm like, oh, OK."

The culprit for her sudden forgetfulness? Pregnancy.

Trader, who is due in August, started noticing increased memory problems about five or six weeks into pregnancy. "My long-term [memory] is fine, as far as still remembering things from where I've lived in the past or medical history or anything like that -- stories that have happened in the past. That is fine," she said.

"It's pretty much my short term."

What Trader experienced isn't anything unusual. In fact, according to Caroline Signore, medical officer in the Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, "maybe 50 to 80 percent of women will say pregnancy affected their memory or concentration in some way.

"The research out there ... some of it suggests that it's this working memory -- the kind of short-term stuff that you need in your head to remember where your keys are," she said.

What, Me ... Tired?
While Signore said that the "research and scientific evidence of memory loss associated with pregnancy is kind of conflicting right now," the problem may have to do with the fact that many expecting moms are under a tremendous amount of stress and are, simply, extremely tired.

"You have a new baby, you've been sort of worn out by pregnancy," she said. "You're definitely losing sleep, and the sleep that you're getting is interrupted."

Nesting may have something to do with it, too, according to Alexis E. Menken, a clinical psychologist who is the New Jersey coordinator and on the President's Advisory Council for Postpartum Support International.

"Well, you know everyone talks about 'momnesia,' " said Menken, who is also the co-editor of the book Perinatal and Postpartum Mood Disorders: Perspectives and Treatment Guide for the Health-Care Practitioner.

"And I think that probably -- from a psychological perspective -- starts during pregnancy, when new moms are doing what they should do, which is turning inward and becoming preoccupied with their baby."

Memory lapses during pregnancy are also affected by greater anxiety and the fact that pregnancy is "a life-changing event," said Majid Fotuhi, director of the Center for Memory and Brain Health at the LifeBridge Brain & Spine Institute, and assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"Many people function normally and only with higher, more difficult tasks would they have problems," said Fotuhi. "In other words, when they do multi-tasking or when they are doing something completely new, they may have problems."

One of those women includes Kathleen Hauser, 44, of Carlisle, Mass., who is pregnant with her third child, also due this August. She claimed that her memory is now about a three out of 10.

"I forget everything these days," she admitted. "If I don't write down even the most simple tasks to follow up on, I simply forget about them. Even going to the grocery store is a challenge these days. Nowadays, I am forced to write down the list as if I were sending a stranger to shop for me: milk, bananas, chicken ... "

But while it may be scary to find yourself suddenly forgetful, "the brain does not shrink, atrophy or degenerate during pregnancy," reminded Fotuhi.

"The problem with pregnancy and memory problems is not that the brain is deteriorated or degenerated," he said. "The problem is concentration. You don't register the information in the first place, so it's hard to retrieve it later."

While there may not necessarily be a cure for such memory lapses, there are some simple things that women can do when dealing with "momnesia," including moderate exercise and getting enough sleep, advised Fotuhi.

"And then in terms of food, a general rule of thumb is to eat four or five pieces of fruits and vegetables, that's good," he said. "More importantly, they need to avoid too [much] junk food. Junk food really clouds the mind."

"I can't fix the memory problem," agreed Hauser. "I can only do little things to help assist me in the fight. I keep lists. Everywhere. I keep little pads of paper and pencils in every room of the house, my car and in my pocketbook."

Those tips could come in handy for those who aren't pregnant as well. Because it "doesn't happen only to people who are pregnant," said Fotuhi. "That same person two years later -- if she's working three jobs and getting four hours sleep intermittently -- would experience the same thing."

"Nobody has reported prolonged memory problems with post-pregnancy," noted Fotuhi. "After a year, to the best of my knowledge, no study has shown residual memory problems."

Hauser, however, said that she still faced memory issues even a year after her first pregnancy.

Quipped Hauser, whose oldest son is now 12 years old: "I'm not sure if I ever regained full control of my memory after the birth of the first child."