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• Posted February 23, 2026

Pregnancy Physically Alters A Woman's Brain – And A Second Pregnancy Even Moreso, Researchers Report

Pregnancy causes many profound changes to a woman’s body — and, it seems, her brain, according to a new study.

Pregnancy physically alters a woman’s brain, with a second pregnancy bringing even more profound effects, researchers reported Feb. 19 in the journal Nature Communications.

Repeated MRI brain scans showed specific changes that occur during a first and second pregnancy, apparently aimed at adapting skills needed in motherhood, researchers said.

“With this, we have shown for the first time that the brain not only changes during the first pregnancy, but also during a second,” said senior researcher Elseline Hoekzema, head of the Pregnancy Brain Lab at Amsterdam University Medical Center in The Netherlands.

“During a first and second pregnancy, the brain changes in both similar and unique ways. Each pregnancy leaves a unique mark on the female brain,” Hoekzema said in a news release.

For the new study, researchers performed brain scans on 110 women. Some were first-time mothers, others second-time moms, and some remained childless.

Results showed that during a first pregnancy, the greatest changes occur in the structure and activity of the "default mode network" — the brain system responsible for self-reflection and mind wandering.

During a second pregnancy, the default mode network changed again, but less strongly, the study said.

“These changes were more prominent in a first pregnancy, suggesting a primary adaptation of this network in women who become mothers for the first time that is further fine-tuned during a second pregnancy,” researchers wrote.

However, a second pregnancy also brought more changes in brain networks related to directing attention and responding to sensory cues, researchers found.

“These processes may be beneficial when caring for multiple children,” lead researcher Milou Straathof, a doctoral candidate in psychiatry at Amsterdam University Medical Center, said in a news release.

These changes in the brain also were linked to the bond between mother and child, particularly during a first pregnancy, researchers found.

The team also found connections between these brain changes and a woman’s risk of pregnancy-related depression.

First-time mothers tended to have brain changes related to postpartum depression, while women having a second child tended to have changes linked to depression during pregnancy, researchers found.

“This knowledge can help to better understand and recognize mental health problems in mothers,” Hoekzema said. “It is important that we understand how the brain adapts to motherhood.”

More information

The National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative has more on the default mode network.

SOURCES: Amsterdam University Medical Center, news release, Feb. 19, 2026; Nature Communications, Feb. 19, 2026