Mother Brain, Chelsea Conaboy
Mother Brain, Chelsea Conaboy
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Mother Brain
How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood

Author: Chelsea Conaboy

Narrator: Chelsea Conaboy

Unabridged: 12 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/13/2022


Synopsis

This program is read by the author.

A groundbreaking exploration of the parental brain that untangles insidious myths from complicated realities, Mother Brain explodes the concept of “maternal instinct” and tells a new story about what it means to become a parent.

Before journalist Chelsea Conaboy gave birth, she anticipated the joy of holding her newborn, the endless dirty diapers, and the sleepless nights. What she didn’t expect was how different she would feel—a shift in self, as deep as it was disorienting. Something was changing: her brain.

New parents undergo major brain changes, driven by hormones and the deluge of stimuli a baby provides. These neurobiological changes help all parents—birthing or otherwise—adapt in those intense first days and prepare for a long period of learning how to meet their child’s needs. Yet this science is mostly absent from the public conversation about parenthood.

Conaboy delves into the neuroscience to reveal unexpected upsides, generations of scientific neglect, and a powerful new narrative of parenthood.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company.

About Chelsea Conaboy

Chelsea Conaboy is a journalist specializing in personal and public health. She was part of the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer prize–winning team for coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing and more recently has worked as a magazine writer with bylines at Mother Jones, Politico, The Week, the Boston Globe Magazine, and others. She lives in Maine with her husband, their two young sons, and her own changing maternal brain.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kate

I had such high hopes for this book. I was quite drawn in by the neuroscience aspect, as it is a field I am passionate about. However, I didn't realize the author was a journalist with zero background in science. It was very obvious through much of the book. While she speaks with some experts, it se......more

If you are a new mother, you may enjoy this book. It can possibly help with the feelings of helplessness and that you are not alone in your journey of motherhood/parenthood. This book gives much more experience and belief type stances with some science. As the title states, I expected this to be a b......more

Goodreads review by Lisa

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance audio copy of this book. I DNFed this audio book at about 35% of the way through. I am certainly interested in this topic and would like to know more about how our brains change after becoming mothers, especially as I'm a mom of two myself and......more

Goodreads review by Shannon

Such an interesting and validating book. Just within the first few pages, I felt so seen, and as the book progressed I learned so much about how parenthood (including for non-gestational parents) changes our brains and lives in incredible ways. Some of my favorite things I learned: - Parenting is a s......more