Psychologists investigate morning sickness and idea of normal pregnancy

Feb 28 2010

Psychologists discuss whether 'baby brain' is fact or fiction and investigate morning sickness and the idea of 'normal pregnancy' in the latest issue of the Psychologist, the in-house magazine of the British Psychological Society.

The leading article examines the evidence behind the widely held belief that pregnancy affects cognitive functioning. 'Self report studies are strikingly consistent. Across the board, approximately two thirds of women report having some kind of memory of attention problems that they attribute to their pregnancy.' 'By contrast, studies using objective tests of memory and attention have proven to be stubbornly inconsistent'. Read more about the evidence and conclusions in the March edition.

Later in the magazine, Professor Paula Nicholson from Royal Holloway, University of London, discusses the idea of what is normal about pregnancy. 'Pregnancy is a crucial life transition with psychological, relational and emotional risks. How does the quality of the experience of becoming a mother impact upon a woman's well-being over time?'

Dr Brain Swallow from the University of Lincoln looks at what is for many women, of the most unpleasant aspects of pregnancy - nausea and vomiting or morning sickness including possible causes, and the psychological consequences.