Happy Monday,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, enjoying quality time with family. Ours was great until my daughter and wife came down with a stomach bug on Sunday. She threw up overnight, seemed fine in the morning but then they both got fevers later in the day and we were so worried it would keep spiking overnight. My wife feels much better this morning and baby girl is still asleep, so we’re hoping she does when she wakes up too. We were so close to making it to her first birthday without an illness!

As some of you know, we’re beta testing the Parenthood app right now, and I know I’m biased, but wow was it helpful yesterday. It told us what to look out for, how to make her feel better, what to feed her, and more.

I’m so excited to share it with all of you very, very soon.

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One Big Idea

This Is Your Brain on Motherhood

I recently wrote about how dads experience neurological changes during early fatherhood, and it turns out that pregnancy and the postpartum journey are also not just times of physical changes, but they also mark a time of extraordinary brain transformation for women. Recent research reveals that during these stages, a woman's brain undergoes more rapid and significant changes than at any other time in her life, including puberty. This neurological evolution, often overshadowed by physical symptoms, is starting to gain attention for its profound impact on motherhood.

In 2016, a study led by Dr. Elseline Hoekzema at Leiden University showcased these changes through MRI scans. Remarkably, these changes were so pronounced that they allowed a computer algorithm to distinctly identify new mothers from those who hadn't given birth. The study highlighted a reduction in gray matter in certain brain regions of new mothers, a change that persisted for up to two years postpartum. Gray matter, crucial for processing and interpreting various sensory inputs and executing high-level tasks, seemed to undergo 'synaptic pruning' - a process where the brain refines its neural connections to become more efficient in specific functions. This pruning is believed to help new mothers focus intensely on their infants, suggesting that these brain changes, while seemingly a loss, are in fact a remarkable adaptation to motherhood.

Understanding these changes offers valuable insights into the challenges and adaptations of new motherhood. For example, the phenomenon of 'mommy brain', characterized by forgetfulness and cognitive shifts in new mothers, might be linked to the brain's reallocation of resources towards areas essential for nurturing and empathizing with the infant. This realignment of cognitive focus underscores the brain's incredible ability to adapt to new roles and responsibilities. For me, this study once again highlights just how amazing and resilient the female body is.

Trending Stories & Insights

• Doctor Mom: Becoming a mother transformed this doctors approach to being in the ICU, where she now feels a deeper sense of empathy and connection with patients and their families, drawing from her own experiences of joy and vulnerability

• IRL: Return to office mandates go over better with Gen Zers and Boomers than with millennials. One of the main reasons is we (myself included) are more likely to be raising kids and don’t need to come to the office in order to make friends

• Teen-ternity: There’s no question that teenagers can be difficult (I was an angel). This has led some parents, particularly mothers, to take 'teen-ternity' leave—not as a reflection of their poor parenting, but as a response to the complex demands of dealing with teenage life

Tip of the Day

• Time to focus? Kids start focusing on playing one sport exclusively earlier than ever these days. Here’s are 5 tips to help decide if it’s the right time for your kid to become a one sport athlete

Here’s a dad joke

Why can't the sailor learn the alphabet?

Scroll to the bottom of the newsletter for the answer!

Time(out) for Memes