Parenthood Literally Changes Your Brain

Throughout the human history and its culture, the primary caregiver for newborn babies has been established as women. The secreted hormones during the processes of pregnancy, labor and nursing support mother-infant bond to be stronger. So much that, Developmental Social Neuroscientist Dr. Ruth Feldman claims that having a newborn baby changes your brain structure as new mother and father, forever. In the rest of this post, you can learn about the hormonal changes during caregiving process to a newborn, brain activations of the parents, and Dr. Feldman’s study of 48 male homosexual couples who had a baby through surrogacy.

Love Hormone Oxytocin

Oxytocin (the hormone that creates the bond between us) supports the care that a mother gives to her newborn. It helps to strengthen the bond between the mother and the baby through pregnancy. Later on, as the oxytocin levels increase, mother and baby would want to touch each other, and as they touch each other, the oxytocin levels increase even more. However, research done with 80 couples showed that the oxytocin levels in fathers are also as high as in mothers. On this notion, Dr. Feldman claims that the oxytocin levels are not just related to characteristics of the mother like giving birth or nursing but they are related to spending quality time with the baby. The activities such as washing or feeding the baby can also activate the oxytocin system, which proves the fact that biological bond of father-baby is as deep and meaningful as the bond of mother-baby.

New Baby New Brain

As we’ve all heard from our social circle, in the case that baby cries during night, although the father gets up to take care of the baby, the first one to hear the cry and the last one to be able to sleep is almost always the mother. Dr. Feldman explains this situation by stating that mother’s high levels of oxytocin causes the amygdala region of the brain (the region that’s responsible for emotion process) to get triggered. Which leads mother to be alert to cues, and therefore unable to relax and go back to sleep.

What If There Is No Mother?

Dr. Feldman examined 48 male homosexual couples who had a newborn baby through surrogacy. She recorded the communication these fathers had with their babies at their home, measured their oxytocin levels, and scanned their brains through fMRI. The results showed that in the case that fathers are the primary caregiver for a newborn baby, their scans reveal the same amygdala activation that mothers have. On this note, Dr. Feldman states that the same brain activation is achieved not only by giving birth or nursing, but by giving love and providing care for your baby. Being a caring parent is a “choice” as much as it is an innate disposition.

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