THE GOOD ENOUGH MOTHER PODCAST
Rethinking 'Mummy Brain'
January 18, 2021
PURPOSE, CHILD-LED, ATTACHMENT, PARENTING, MOTHERING
with behavioural neuroscientist and therapist Dr Jodi Pawluski
In this episode of TGEM I chat with Dr Jodi Pawluski, behavioural neuroscientist and therapist about the fascinating effects of motherhood on the maternal brain.
We talk about whether ‘Mummy brain’ actually exists, and the interplay between both social and physiological factors that shape our experience of mothering.
Dr Pawluski reflects on what has been left out and not yet explored in neuroscience when it comes to motherhood, and I ask her about the brain differences between those of us who give birth to a baby, compared with fathers and other caregivers.
We open up discussion about the plasticity of our brains, and how the changes we go through when we become Mothers impact relationships, attachment, and so much more.
Dr Jodi Pawluski (she/her), PhD HDR is a Behavioural Neuroscientist, Therapist and Author based in Rennes, France. Her research is affiliated with the IRSET (UMR_S 1085) a research unit of the INSERM institute, the University of Rennes 1, and the EHESP School of Public Health.
For over a decade Jodi has studied the neuroscience of motherhood and the effects of perinatal mental illness and antidepressant medications on the mother and developing offspring. She regularly speaks nationally and internationally about her research findings as well as the fascinating effects of parenting on the brain.
Meet
Dr Jodi
She is a Postpartum Support International Coordinator for France and a member of the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative. She is active in publishing, counseling, mentoring and advocating for improvements to perinatal mental health care.
In 2020 she started a podcast called Mommy Brain Revisited which focuses on bringing current research on the parental brain to the general public. She also regularly blogs about the neuroscience of parenting and perinatal mental health at Inspire the Mind and is the author of Mommy Brain (Larousse).
