MOTHER BRAIN

A fascinating, feminist exploration of the postpartum parental brain. Chelsea Conaboy, a veteran journalist, argues that much of the experience of motherhood is driven not by the vaguely defined, reductive idea of "maternal instinct," but by the most rapid and dramatic neurobiological period of change in an adult's life.

In this groundbreaking exploration of the postpartum brain, Chelsea Conaboy, a veteran journalist, argues that much of the experience of motherhood is driven not by the vaguely defined, reductive idea of "maternal instinct," but by the most rapid and dramatic neurobiological period of change in an adult's life.

In recent years, scientists have discovered that the surge of hormones at childbirth sets off both structural and functional changes in the mother's brain designed to meet their baby's basic needs in those tenuous first days, and then set her up for a longer period of learning how to parent. These changes are so dramatic that researchers can easily sort the women who have had a pregnancy from those who haven't, and the emerging science is providing key insights into the wide-ranging experience of motherhood - from the intensity of emotions to the unexpected upsides to its larger role in species survival. Amazingly enough, some of these neural changes are also traceable in the brains of primary caregivers who are not biological parents.

The story that exists in the science today is far more meaningful than the romanticized idea that mothers spring into being by instinct, and more complex than the notion of an impaired "mommy brain." Yet until recently, neuroscience has remained almost entirely absent from the public conversation about what it means to be a mother.

Chelsea Conaboy will weave together her own and others' personal stories, cutting edge neuroscience and social psychology, and the writings of feminist scholars to produce a new narrative that will empower women to understand and embrace the challenging and transformative experience of motherhood.

Chelsea Conaboy is a freelance writer and editor focused primarily on health care. She lives in Portland, Maine.


Chelsea Conaboy is a veteran journalist, specializing in personal and public health. She was part of the Boston Globe's Pulitzer prize-winning team for coverage of the Boston Marathon Bombing and more recently, has worked as a freelance magazine writer with bylines at Mother Jones, Politico, The Week, The Boston Globe Magazine and others. She lives in Maine with her husband, their two young sons and her own changing maternal brain.