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Hormonal Changes In Pregnant Women

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When a woman first finds out that she is pregnant, it is typically one of the happiest moments of her life. She can only imagine all the crazy mood swings, physical, and psychological changes that are going to happen in the next 9 months. Pregnancy is characterized by an increase in the levels of circulating female sex steroids, in particular, estradiol and progesterone (Brunton, P., & Russell, J., 2010). The female sex steroids, estrogens and progesterone, are produced in large amounts in pregnancy, increasing as she comes closer to delivery. As estrogen and progesterone increase, many other hormonal changes occur as well that effect physiological structures within the brain. These hormones have important roles in the peripheral actions to …show more content…
Both hyperphagia and taste changes during pregnancy and may be induced by sex hormones estrogen and progesterone in the hypothalamus (Faas, M., Melgert, B., & Vos, P.,
2009). It is important to study the regulation of food intake during physiological or pathological changes such as in pregnancy; pregnant women have a greater need or desire to eat. Fetal energy demands become more overpowering the further along a woman is. Some fetal energy demands include altered control of water and electrolyte balance, appetite, and energy partitioning and stress responses (Brunton, P., & Russell, J., 2010). Along with increased appetite, some women get what is called a pregnancy brain. It is when they constantly forget things that normally they have no problem remembering, their spatial memory has been affected. This is due to hormonal changes that occur in the hippocampus, which can be further or permanently damaged without the proper energy demands being met. Micronutrients, such as iron, can help increase spatial
Lindsey …show more content…
Therefore, altered hippocampal GR levels form a central feature of the responsiveness of stress (Workman, J., et al., 2012). Corticosterone, which is mediated by BDNF, can also effect memory function; one of the effects of BDNF is the modulation of neurogenesis. Therefore, one way that that stress or elevated glucocorticoid levels can affect the developing brain of the fetus, is by influencing BDNF levels (Workman, J. et al.,
2012). Similar deficits seen in spatial memory function, as in iron deficiency, suggest that altered glucocorticoid levels may be associated with iron deficiency induced spatial memory deficits.
Majority of studies show that late pregnancy is more highly associated with impairment in hippocampus-dependent spatial and cognitive memory in first time mothers. This is due to high stress of not knowing what to expect during or after the arrival of the child. Fetal sex may play a role in cognitive impairments: women pregnant with a male fetus were more likely to perform

better on tests of working memory and spatial ability than women pregnant with female fetus
(Workman, J. L. et al., 2012).
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus and its complex neural networks that regulate appetite and

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