With three days to go before the official release of Spare, an explosive memoir by Prince Harry, the internet is already burning about a “baby brain” argument between Meghan Markle and her sister-in-law Kate Middleton.
In excerpts from the book, already released in Spain, Harry spills the beans about a nasty fight in the run-up to his and Meghan’s wedding in 2018. After a disagreement about some wedding preparations, Meghan told the Princess of Wales that she “must have baby brain because of her hormones.”
This apparently resulted in so much drama. Harry writes an “offended” Kate gripped her chair so tightly that her fingers turned white. Kate’s husband, Prince William, then pointed his finger at Meghan and said her “rude” comment was not appropriate in Britain. It was then that Meghan allegedly told William to “take your finger out of my face.”
Since these details emerged, Twitter is buzzing with many arguing that Meghan’s comments were stereotypical and sexist. They claim it is rather offensive and patronising to tell that to a heavily pregnant woman.
Dr Madeleine Pownall, a psychologist, lecturer and researcher at the University of Leeds, says “The colloquial concept of ‘baby brain’ suggests that throughout pregnancy and into the immediate postpartum period, women have reduced cognitive abilities and are more distracted, forgetful, and incompetent.”
Her research on the subject was published in the Social and Personality Psychology Compass journal last year.
“When women become mothers, they are perceived to be stressed, overworked, anxious, and cognitively less able than other people,” writes Pownall.
“In pregnancy and into biological motherhood, women are framed by society to suffer from poorer memory recall, compromised executive functioning, and reduced attention. This perception of decreased cognitive abilities in pregnancy is colloquially referred to as ‘mommy brain’, maternal amnesia, ‘preg head’, or, more frequently, ‘baby brain’.”
Though the term “baby brain” is well-researched and document, Pownall does point out that pregnant women are also seen to be at the continual mercy of their hormones, and face discrimination, prejudice, and benevolent sexism throughout pregnancy.
She adds, “Such perceptions are arguably fuelled by the existence and promotion of stereotypes about pregnant women which suggest pregnant women are warm, caring, and maternal but also predominantly incapable and in need of assistance.”
While the “baby brain” phenomenon has been subject to much inquiry from cognitive, neuropsychological, and evolutionary research, Pownall believes there are inconsistences and concerns surrounding its robustness and conclusiveness.
