Summary:
A Penn State study finds that the familiar “pregnancy brain” — the memory lapses, concentration problems, and mental fuzziness reported by many expectant and new mothers — is closely linked to symptoms of anxiety and depression. The researchers discovered that regular physical activity reduced cognitive fog for women with depressive symptoms but, unexpectedly, increased cognitive slips for highly anxious postpartum mothers. The findings suggest that exercise performed under stress or obligation can further tax an already overburdened nervous system.
Key Facts:
- Emotional drivers: Symptoms of depression (persistent low mood, hopelessness) and anxiety (excessive worry, sleep disruption) were strongly associated with more frequent memory, attention, and language mistakes during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
- Exercise differences: Meeting recommended physical activity levels (about 150 minutes weekly) was linked to reduced brain fog in women reporting elevated depressive symptoms, but it was related to more cognitive failures among postpartum mothers with high anxiety.
- Self-care caution: Investigators warn that some anxious new mothers may treat exercise as an added duty or pressure to lose weight, turning a healthy behavior into a source of cognitive fatigue. They emphasize that intentional self-care and social support are critical.
Source: Penn State
Expectant and new mothers often report “pregnancy brain,” “baby brain,” or “momnesia,” a frustrating cluster of forgetfulness, scattered focus, and absentmindedness. Although not an official diagnosis, this experience is commonly reported during pregnancy and the early postpartum period.
To investigate whether routine physical activity might reduce these cognitive changes, researchers at Pennsylvania State University conducted a prospective study that followed women from late pregnancy into early motherhood. Published in Psychology & Health, their study reveals a complex interaction among mood symptoms, physical activity, and cognitive functioning in the perinatal period.
Rather than serving as a universal cure for pregnancy brain, exercise had different effects depending on whether participants were experiencing depressive or anxiety symptoms.
Mood Symptoms Mirror Cognitive Slips
The team studied 56 women in Central Pennsylvania around 28–30 weeks of gestation and followed 46 of them at six weeks postpartum. Participants completed validated assessments that measured physical activity, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and self-reported cognitive failures related to memory, attention, and language.
Across both pregnancy and postpartum assessments, mental health symptoms closely tracked cognitive disruption.
“Symptoms of anxiety, such as excessive worrying, sleep trouble, and concentration difficulties — and depressive symptoms like hopelessness, low mood, and diminished appetite — were linked to higher levels of pregnancy brain fog in our sample,” said Victoria Suhy, the study’s first author and a doctoral candidate in kinesiology at Penn State.
The Divergent Impact of Physical Activity
When researchers examined the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance, overall activity levels alone did not significantly reduce brain fog for the group as a whole. However, patterns shifted when participants were grouped by mood:
- Depression relief: For women reporting higher depressive symptoms, meeting the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guideline of roughly 150 minutes of moderate activity per week was associated with noticeably lower levels of cognitive lapses.
- Anxiety exacerbation: In contrast, among postpartum mothers with elevated anxiety, meeting the same exercise guidelines correlated with an increase in forgetfulness and attention slips.
“We anticipated that physical activity would generally reduce forgetfulness, but the results are more nuanced,” Suhy said. “Exercise may help reduce brain fog for women with depressive symptoms, yet for those with high anxiety, it can worsen cognitive failures. Several interacting factors drive this pattern.”
Investigators propose that anxious new mothers might feel compelled to exercise out of pressure to lose pregnancy weight or to meet external expectations. In such cases, activity becomes an additional stressor rather than restorative self-care.
“New mothers who are anxious and who adhere strictly to activity guidelines could be stretching themselves too thin,” Suhy added. “If exercise feels like an obligation rather than a source of relief, it can increase how often your mind slips.”
Reframing Postpartum Recovery and Support
These findings underscore the need to view physical activity during the perinatal period as individualized and context-dependent. For women experiencing low energy and depressive symptoms, movement can promote neuroplasticity and sharpen cognition. But for women already in a state of heightened anxiety and sympathetic arousal, prescriptive or rigid exercise routines may further deplete limited cognitive and emotional reserves.
“Because many women juggle multiple responsibilities, self-care can be misperceived as selfish rather than essential,” said senior author Danielle Symons Downs, PhD, professor of kinesiology and obstetrics and gynecology at Penn State. “Simple practices—such as taking five quiet minutes in the morning and five minutes before bed to notice your mood—can help mothers monitor changes and recognize when support or professional care is needed.”
The researchers encourage partners, family members, and clinicians to create practical support systems that allow new mothers to rest, recover, and engage in real restorative care rather than adding pressure to perform.
Editorial Notes:
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- The journal paper was reviewed in full.
- Additional context was provided by the editorial staff.
About this Alzheimer’s disease Research:
- Media Contact: Aaron Wagner
- Source: Penn State
- Image Credit: Image credited to Neuroscience News
- Original Research (Open Access): Psychology and Health (Oct 1, 2026). “Pregnancy brain? Relationships between meeting prenatal physical activity guidelines, stress, anxiety, cognitive functioning in pregnancy and postpartum.” Authors: Victoria A. Suhy, Abigail M. Pauley, Owen Griffith, Jamie Whitney, and Danielle Symons Downs.
- DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2026.2733983
Abstract
Pregnancy brain? Relationships between meeting prenatal physical activity guidelines, stress, anxiety, cognitive functioning in pregnancy and postpartum
Objective
Meeting recommended physical activity and stabilizing mood may protect perinatal women from cognitive changes, but limited research has explored these relationships. This study investigated whether physical activity and mood (anxiety and depressive symptoms) were associated with prenatal and postpartum cognitive failures, including lapses in perception, memory, and action.
Methods and Measures
Fifty-six pregnant women completed assessments at 28–30 weeks gestation and again at six weeks postpartum. Participants were grouped by adherence to physical activity guidelines and by mood symptom patterns across time. General linear models evaluated associations, and exploratory analyses assessed whether physical activity modified mood–cognition relationships.
Results
Higher prenatal mood symptoms were linked to greater prenatal and postpartum cognitive failures. While physical activity alone was not directly associated with perinatal cognition across the whole sample, it moderated how mood related to cognitive lapses: meeting activity guidelines appeared to reduce the rate at which depressive symptoms translated into cognitive failures during pregnancy, whereas not meeting postpartum guidelines related to a lower rate of cognitive increase with anxiety symptoms.
Conclusion
Better mood regulation across the perinatal period was associated with fewer cognitive failures. Meeting physical activity guidelines may help buffer the mood–cognition relationship during pregnancy but may not offer the same protective effect postpartum, especially in the presence of anxiety. Future research should track dynamic changes in activity, mood, and cognition to identify effective interventions and understand childbirth’s longer-term effects on maternal cognitive health.