ETV Bharat / lifestyleWhy A New Mother Can't Stop Looking At Her Baby | Science Says It's How Her Brain Is RewiredThere is a moment that has played out in Indian homes for centuries.
A new study by Australia's University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka published in Science Advances suggests that after childbirth, a mother's brain undergoes remarkable changes that make caring for her baby feel emotionally rewarding rather than simply another responsibility.
When mothers interact with their babies, this pathway stimulates the brain's reward centre, releasing dopamine, often called the “feel-good” chemical.
A mother's brain undergoes remarkable changes that make caring for her baby feel emotionally rewarding (Getty Images)Researchers found that when they artificially switched on this brain circuit in female mice that had never given birth, they immediately began behaving like attentive mothers.
On the other hand, when the pathway was disrupted in the mothers, they were not very interested in their pups.
ETV Bharat / lifestyle
Why A New Mother Can't Stop Looking At Her Baby | Science Says It's How Her Brain Is Rewired
There is a moment that has played out in Indian homes for centuries. A newborn baby arrives. Grandparents bustle about with advice, neighbours come bearing sweets, and somewhere in the middle of the excitement sits a new mother, unable to take her eyes off the tiny person asleep in her arms. She wakes up at the slightest whimper. She forgets meals, ignores her phone and finds the energy to comfort a crying infant at three in the morning despite barely sleeping herself. People call it “mother's instinct.”
Scientists now have a better idea of where that instinct may come from. A new study by Australia's University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka published in Science Advances suggests that after childbirth, a mother's brain undergoes remarkable changes that make caring for her baby feel emotionally rewarding rather than simply another responsibility.
The research, conducted in mice, found that a hormone called prolactin (best known for helping mothers produce breast milk) also activates a specific pathway in the brain linked to pleasure and motivation. When mothers interact with their babies, this pathway stimulates the brain's reward centre, releasing dopamine, often called the “feel-good” chemical. In simple terms, nature doesn't merely ask a mother to care for her newborn. It rewires her brain so that she wants to.
A mother's brain undergoes remarkable changes that make caring for her baby feel emotionally rewarding (Getty Images)
Researchers found that when they artificially switched on this brain circuit in female mice that had never given birth, they immediately began behaving like attentive mothers. On the other hand, when the pathway was disrupted in the mothers, they were not very interested in their pups. While these results are from animal studies and cannot be directly transferred to humans, they provide important clues in the remarkable biological changes that occur during pregnancy and following childbirth.
