Pregnancy and memory loss

[mcclesm]

Hello,
I am 29, hoping to enter med school at 31. I was thinking of having my first child in about a year or so; this would leave me about 4-6 months pregnant during the time I will be finishing my post-bac classes and taking the MCAT. I've heard some people talk about memory loss during pregnancy. Have any of you experienced this? This is getting me worried about taking the MCAT while pregnant, much less during tests and finals. Is this very common?
Thanks!

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[lilnoelle]

I definitely had issues with "memory loss" during pregnancy. I wouldn't really call it memory loss though.... it was more like I was ditzy or spacy during my pregnancy. I had trouble completing sentences or staying on task. It was worse with my first pregnancy than it was with my second. For me it was like the additional stress on my body just made it hard to stay on track - but it wasn't real memory loss. I have the same experience with medical school. I've got so much going on, its hard for me to communicate with people or to complete a task (outside of medical school).

I took the MCAT while 5 months pregnant. I don't think it affected my performance. Being pregnant made studying for the test more difficult, and it may have made taking the test more difficult (being uncomfortable, needing to eat, needing to pee) but it didn't necessarily make the intellectual part of the test more difficult (I didn't forget what I had learned).

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Burnz]

for a girl like me this is a good info. i think this is one of the hardest part may happened to us girls.

 

[Pharmavixen]

My OB called it the "mum-dumbs." She said a woman's plasma volume increases by 20-30% during pregnancy, resulting in synapses getting slightly farther apart. And there's also the distraction of becoming a mum.

I found it was more of an absent-mindedness than a loss of cognitive abilities.

Lots of women become mums despite gruelling academic or work schedules. If you think you can do it, go for it. Though I would recommend not trying to be supermom, and asking for help from friends/family when needed.

 

[Burnz]

it is good for a pregnant woman feels the support of her family. it will help her and the baby healthy.

 

[CfromLA]

The "mum dumbs," I like that. When I was pregnant I found myself absent-minded, as well. An example of this was when I once was going to drive somewhere: I went to the car and sat in the back seat and waited for a few minutes. Then I realized I needed to be in the driver's seat to actually drive... But definitely consider how the absent-mindedness, morning sickness (usually all-day sickness), tiredness (I often would suddenly get extremely tired and have to take a nap), and mood swings (often making it impossible to concentrate) will affect your studying. I'd mostly be worried about the MCAT, since it is timed and lack of concentration would really hurt you. If possible, time it so that you take the MCAT in your second semester. I didn't experience any of the above effects during that time. It was great...

 

[Burnz]

your lucky. but the point here is for girls like us we should not get pregnant if we are still studying.LOL. We can after the graduation.LOL

 

[brains]

your lucky. but the point here is for girls like us we should not get pregnant if we are still studying.LOL. We can after the graduation.LOL

Honestly, I would rather go through it all while I'm a student and not a practicing physician. I wouldn't want to have morning sickness during a procedure or not have any sleep because I was up with the baby all night long and then try to put someone's life in my hands the next day. No way, get that stuff out of the way now. I see it that way because I lived it.

 

[Pharmavixen]

Honestly, I would rather go through it all while I'm a student and not a practicing physician. I wouldn't want to have morning sickness during a procedure or not have any sleep because I was up with the baby all night long and then try to put someone's life in my hands the next day. No way, get that stuff out of the way now. I see it that way because I lived it.

During my second pregnancy, I was working two jobs, on my feet all the time. My mum (a retired obstetrical nurse) told me I was working too hard and would go into labour early, and I did: my daughter was born at 36 weeks. She's fine and all, and I wouldn't say you have to spend your pregnancy with your feet up, but you can't push yourself the way you can with your non-pregnant self.

 

[lessismoe]

I was pregnant through most of third year, which was interesting. It was mostly frustrating for me that I had physical limitations on what I could do-- I ended up having hypotensive/syncopal episodes if I stood for longer than 30 minutes, so the Surgery rotation was not fun, let me tell you. I didn't experience the "Mum-dumbs" (LOVE the term!) until after giving birth-- took all the shelf exams pregnant and seemed to do fine. Maybe the post-birth phenomenon was just the sleep deprivation or, as it was said to me, "after a woman gives birth, a part of her brain becomes permanently devoted to keeping an eye on her child", but in any case, I was doing silly things like forgetting to write the last 5 letters of my name and leaving jugs of milk out on the counter all night.

If it matters at all, when I was about 4-6 months pregnant, I seemed to hit a "stride"; I was in a good mood all the time and I felt super-confident in what I was doing. Maybe it will be the same for you! Good luck with your pregnancy and your MCAT!

 

[Khanoom]

I have 18 weeks and Im a bit ditsy right now. Im an MS1 and I also seemed to have lost my edge.. When Im taking exams I dont feel like I care as much...I dont know what this is, but maybe having a broader perspective on things..I dont know. C Im doing it now. I definetely need to sleep a lot more which gets into my studying time but I also dont do much besides school so I generally have time for a nap or two.

 

[mededu]

Till date, i didn't come across this fact.

As shared by SDN members about their experience with memory loss during pregnancy then it will be wise to calculate the best time for taking your test.