Pregnancy is known to reshape the brain, but new research reveals that these changes do not stop after the first child.
Scientists at Amsterdam UMC have found that a second pregnancy also reshapes the female brain. Earlier work by the same research team had already shown that a first pregnancy can alter brain structure. The new findings, published in Nature Communications, reveal that both first and second pregnancies produce powerful effects on the maternal brain. Each pregnancy appears to leave its own distinct neurological imprint.
In earlier research, neuroscientist Elseline Hoekzema and her colleagues were the first to demonstrate that pregnancy can change the structure of the human brain. They also discovered that pregnancy affects how the brain functions.
For the new study, the team followed 110 women over time. Some participants became mothers for the first time, others gave birth to a second child, and a third group remained childless. The researchers repeatedly scanned the participants’ brains, allowing them to observe how brain structure and activity evolved across these different groups.
“With this, we have shown for the first time that the brain not only changes during the first pregnancy, but also during a second,” says Hoekzema, head of the Pregnancy Brain Lab at Amsterdam UMC. “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.”
Different brain networks change
The most pronounced changes during a first pregnancy were observed in the structure and activity of the Default Mode Network. This network plays an important role in processes such as self-reflection and social cognition.
During a second pregnancy, the Default Mode Network also showed changes, although the effects were less pronounced. Instead, stronger changes were detected in brain networks involved in directing attention and responding to sensory signals.
“It appears that during a second pregnancy, the brain is more strongly altered in networks involved in reacting to sensory cues and in controlling your attention,” explains researcher Milou Straathof, who analyzed the data. “These processes may be beneficial when caring for multiple children.”
Relationship with mother-child bond and maternal mental health
The researchers also discovered a relationship between pregnancy-related brain changes and the emotional bond between mother and child. This connection was stronger for women experiencing their first pregnancy than for those having a second child.
The team also identified links between structural brain changes and peripartum depression in both first and second pregnancies. According to the researchers, this provides the first evidence that changes occurring in the cortex during pregnancy are associated with maternal depression.
Among first-time mothers, this connection was most apparent after childbirth. For women expecting a second child, the association appeared more strongly during pregnancy.
“This knowledge can help to better understand and recognize mental health problems in mothers. It is important that we understand how the brain adapts to motherhood.”
Importance of research into the maternal brain
The study offers new insight into how the female brain adjusts to the experience of motherhood. Although most women become pregnant at least once in their lives, scientists are only beginning to understand how pregnancy affects the brain.
By examining both first and second pregnancies, the research helps fill an important gap in knowledge about women’s biology. The findings could also contribute to improved care for mothers, including better strategies for preventing and treating postpartum depression.
More broadly, the results highlight the brain’s remarkable ability to adapt to major life changes throughout a woman’s life.
Reference: “The effects of a second pregnancy on women’s brain structure and function” by M. Straathof, S. Halmans, P. J. W. Pouwels, E. A. Crone and E. Hoekzema, 19 February 2026, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69370-8
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6 Comments
After having two full term pregnancies, I definitely see this. I’d love to see them research the effects on the mother’s nervous systems during both pregnancies. I feel like I developed an autonomic nervous disorder when pregnant with my second.
OK, well what do these brain changes mean for the women?? Does it help them or make them smarter or dumber or what??
I’m child-free and noticed a decade or so ago that I get along better with other women who are child-free. I also noticed that women who I was good friends with for years became different after having kids. They became more selfish and made more fear-based decisions and also became arrogant. To the point where we are no longer friends.
Maybe it was the brain changes from pregnancy that made them that way.
Maybe it was you. B
You cannot be serious Jennifer…they became more “selfish, make fear based decisions, and arrogant” ?? Once someone has a child they will probably have less time for you to hangout and their whole decision making will be what is best for the kid and family. I don’t think you discovered you get along best with child free women..I just think that until you are at that point in life, you have no time or patience to be burdened by the fact your friend had a child.
Brandon – Thank you. I was struggling with how to politely say “please read your own comment, Judgemental Jennifer. Your selfishness is overwhelming.” I could go on, but I won’t.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
My first pregnancy i suddenly became afraid of heights, my 2nd i suffered post partum depression and now my third i have a hard time focusing . Each pregnancy changed me in some kind of way that is beyond my control. I’m sure however that there are alot of environmental factors that can play a role .