title: Pregnancy history and cognition during and after pregnancy.
abstract: An increasing body of literature confirms anecdotal reports that cognitive changes occur during pregnancy. This article assessed whether prior pregnancy, which alters a woman's subsequent hormonal environment, is associated with a specific cognitive profile during and after pregnancy. Seven primigravids and nine multigravids were compared, equivalent for age and education. No differences between groups were found during pregnancy. After delivery, multigravids performed better than primigravids on verbal memory tasks. After controlling for mood, a significant difference in verbal memory remained. A neuroadaptive mechanism may develop after first pregnancy that increases the ability to recover from some cognitive deficits after later pregnancies.
authors.affiliation: Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, California, USA.
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Buckwalter
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Bluestein
authors.forename: F Z
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: Stanczyk
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Buckwalter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology